Disunited kingdom as PM Boris Johnson promotes his coronavirus recovery road map
- England eases lockdown but Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland opt to stay at home
- UK has been one of the worst-hit countries in the global pandemic, with more than 32,000 deaths
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson fleshed out his strategy to gradually ease the country out of lockdown with a speech to parliament and a 50-page document but conceded the new messaging and softening of the rules only applies to England.
Instead of the new “Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives” message now promoted by Johnson, the devolved parliaments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales decided to stick to the old “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives”.
“The government are today submitting to the House (of Commons) a plan that is conditional and dependent, as always, on the common sense and observance of the British people and on the continual reassessment of the data,” Johnson said on Monday. “That picture varies across the regions and home nations of the United Kingdom, requiring a flexible response. Different parts of the UK may need to stay in full lockdown longer, but any divergence should be only short term because, as prime minister of the UK, I am in no doubt that we must defeat this threat and face the challenge of recovery together.”
Under the new lockdown rules for England, people working in essential sectors such as food production, construction and manufacturing – jobs that can’t be carried out at home – should go back to work.
For the first time the government also “advised” people to wear cloth face coverings when travelling on public transport or entering enclosed spaces. From June, primary schools will reopen, although parents who choose not to send their children to school will not face fines.
Sports like tennis and golf would be allowed with one other person from a different household, and people will be able to go on day trips as far away as they like.
Fines for breaking the rules however increased from £100 to £3,600 (US$123 to US$4,443) for persistent offenders.
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“There will of course be risks whenever we start to ease the lockdown,” said Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. “But my judgment right now is that the risk is still too great.”
Keir Starmer, the new leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused Johnson of failing to keep the country united.
“There’s not consensus either on messaging now or on policy between the UK government and those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,” he told parliament saying there was a “real danger of divergence. What the country needs at this time is clarity and reassurance and at the moment both are in pretty short supply”.
In Wales, the concern was of day trippers crossing the border from England crowding the country’s beauty spots. Welsh police say they will stop people at the border.
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“Restrictions in Wales remain,” tweeted North Wales Police, whose territory includes Snowdonia National Park, which recorded its highest number of visitors ever the day before the UK locked down on March 23.
“The mountains, beaches & countryside will be here when this is over for us all to enjoy. We all look forward to welcoming visitors back once it is safe to do so. Until then please #stayhome”. The sentiment was echoed by police in England’s Lake District.
Johnson’s move also raised alarm in the Labour run town halls of London, which has suffered the most deaths from the disease and has the busiest transport system, and Manchester, in the northwest of England which currently has the highest rate of new Covid-19 infections.
“Despite some of the confusing messages from Government, the simple truth is lockdown has not been lifted,” tweeted the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Many people already started to return to work on Monday, with long traffic jams on the main roads into London and scenes of crowds on the underground. The government is advising people to cycle or walk to work wherever possible. But with many London commuters living 10km or more from the city centre, that is not an option for them.
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Moreover, many underground stations remain closed and tube and bus services have been greatly reduced, partly due to staff falling ill or self-isolating. Twenty-nine London bus drivers have already died from coronavirus.
The government also published eight different documents aimed at different sections of industry on how to protect workers.
But trade unions raised concern that the instructions have come too late and that unscrupulous employers will force people to work, without offering adequate protection.
Data issued by the Office of National Statistics on Monday showed that male security guards, taxi drivers and restaurant chefs were four times more likely to die of Covid-19 than accountants and lawyers.
The UK now has the highest death toll from the virus in Europe with more than 32,000 fatalities, although the number of daily deaths appears to be falling. Johnson made it clear that should the trend move the other way, he would reinforce tough lockdown measures again.
