The chancellor stresses the new lockdown is time-limited, after a cabinet colleague told Sky News it could be extended “if necessary”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that the new lockdown restrictions across England will be expiring on the 2nd of December “as a matter of law”.
The chancellor has stressed that these new COVID-19 restrictions are time limited, and he has told the BBC that the government’s “expectation and firm hope is that the measures put in place will be sufficient to do the job we need”.
At the conclusion of the four-week period, Mr Sunak added that it is hoped England will be able to return to a tiered COVID-19 system.
George Eustice has recently said that it is “too early to say” how people will be able to celebrate Christmas this year, with strict COVID-19 rules in place across large parts of the UK. On Tuesday, COVID-19 deaths in the UK hit their highest level for five months when 367 new fatalities linked to the novel coronavirus and nearly 23,000 more cases were recorded.
The new lockdown is scheduled to start on Thursday, and the prime minister is set to face MPs later today ahead of a vote on the measures on Wednesday.
It is expected to be voted through on the back of Labour support, although many Conservative MPs are unhappy with the decision.
Boris Johnson will signal his determination for the lockdown to end after four weeks when he faces the Commons.
The PM is expected to say: “At the end of four weeks, on Wednesday 2 December, we will seek to ease restrictions, going back into the tiered system on a local and regional basis according to the latest data and trends.”
He will also say that there is “no alternative” to a second national shutdown and he will defend his decision to opt for the regional tier system in October.
Mr Johnson will tell MPs:
“I believe it was right to try every possible option to get this virus under control at a local level, with strong local action and strong local leadership,”
This comes after the deaths of two young children, as well as two adults as they attempted to reach the United Kingdom in a migrant boat in the English Channel should be a “wake-up call” for politicians in both the UK and France, charity bosses have said.
On Monday, Mr Sunak said support of 40% from the government for self-employed workers “will go up” but that those grants cover a much longer period than the furlough scheme.
In Wales, first minister Mark Drakeford has denied the current “firebreak” will continue beyond two weeks.
He told Sky News’ Kay Burley at Breakfast: “We won’t be extending it, we’ll be coming out of the firebreak on 9 November.”
Scotland enters into a new five-tier system today, with Nicola Sturgeon warning she would not hesitate to increase the level of protection either locally or nationally as required.
