https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8904459/Boris-Johnson-tell-MPs-today-Covid-deaths-TWICE-bad-Spring.htmlBoris Johnson will tell MPs today that Covid deaths will be 'TWICE as bad' as Spring unless they vote for lockdown amid Tory rebellion over 'removal of liberty' as ministers hint if cases stay high then 'all bets are off' on Christmas
The Prime Minister is set to use a statement to the Commons this afternoon to say there is 'no alternative'
He will reassure MPs he will 'seek to ease' curbs and return to the localised tiered system on December 2
Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour will vote with the Government, meaning the lockdown will likely sail through
But PM has come under fire from his own side and will face stiff opposition from hawkish Tory backbenchers
Sir Graham Brady said the removal of people's fundamental liberties is going almost without comment
By Jack Elsom For Mailonline and Daniel Martin and Jason Groves and Claire Ellicot For The Daily Mail
Published: 07:16, 2 November 2020 | Updated: 09:18, 2 November 2020
Boris Johnson will today try to head off a mounting Tory revolt against his nationwide lockdown by warning coronavirus deaths this winter could double the amount of the first wave. The Prime Minister is set to use a statement to the Commons this afternoon to say there is 'no alternative' but to impose four weeks of blanket restrictions across England to wrestle down the resurgent virus. Mr Johnson will move to reassure MPs that he will 'seek to ease' curbs and return to the localised tiered system on December 2, following suggestions from Michael Gove yesterday the lockdown could be extended. Rishi Sunak tried to soothe angry Tory backbenchers this morning insisting the lockdown measures will be legally ended on the date. He said the 'hope and expectation' was that the virus would be at a low enough level by then to ease the curbs, although he admitted they will be kept under review. However cabinet ministers are privately warning that lockdown could stretch well into next month if hospitalisations remain high and that 'all bets are off' for Christmas. Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour will vote with the Government, meaning the lockdown will likely sail through the Commons. But the PM has come under fire from his own side and will face stiff opposition from hawkish Tory backbenchers gearing up to rebel. Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful 1922 committee, led the backlash of MPs, telling the BBC's Westminster Hour last night: 'I think the aspect of the lockdown restrictions that actually bother me most would be the extent of intrusion in what ordinarily we see as fundamental human rights; the freedom of association, the right to family life, we even now have the Government telling us who we can sleep with or not depending on if they're deemed to be in an established relationship. If these kinds of measures were being taken in any totalitarian country around the world we would be denouncing it as a form of evil. And here the removal of people's fundamental liberties is going almost without comment.'
In other developments:
Mr Johnson cancelled the PM's usual speech to the CBI conference and will be replaced instead with business secretary Alok Sharma;
Education unions called for school closures but Mr Gove suggested ministers would rather extend lockdown than shut them;
Travel firms warned of 'complete shutdown' across the industry as a result of the international travel ban;
The former chief scientific adviser Sir Mark Walport said the curbs could last longer than the first lockdown;
The UK recorded 23,254 more cases, an increase of 3,464 on last week, and 162 deaths, 11 more than last Sunday;
The time people are told to self isolate is expected to be halved this week;
Confusion reigned over visits to care homes and whether Remembrance Day services will be allowed.
Up to 80 Tory MPs are considering rebelling against Mr Johnson, according to The Telegraph, meaning he would have to rely on Labour to get it over the line. Tory ex-minister Sir Desmond Swayne said it would take a 'huge amount of persuasion for me to vote for this disastrous course of action'.
Former Cabinet minister Esther McVey said she would vote against them because the ''lockdown cure' is causing more harm than Covid'.
To win round undecided MPs, the PM is expected to say: 'Models of our scientists suggest that unless we act now, we could see deaths over the winter that are twice as bad or more compared with the first wave. Faced with these latest figures, there is no alternative but to take further action at a national level. I know some in the House believe we should have reached this decision earlier, but 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.'
Peter Bone told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning he had not yet decided how to vote on the measures outlined by Prime Minister Boris Johnson when they are debated in the Commons on Wednesday. Hitting out at 'unreadable graphs' at the press briefings, Mr Bone said: 'At the moment, I have not been convinced that I should vote on Wednesday with the Government.'
Some of those on the backbenches were even calling for Mr Johnson to go. He's on borrowed time, totally inept,' one source told The Times. 'I think it could be his Suez,' a former cabinet minister told the paper. A comparison to the 1950s crisis that led to Anthony Eden's resignation was made by many. And a minister told the paper: 'He's been overrun by the virus and by his 'advisers.' They are nasty, they misunderstand the parliamentary party, and above all are totally, totally sh*t. Over the last week with the row over free school meals and this I think we've lost the next election.'
Restive Tory MPs last night demanded the Government produce an exit plan, or an alternative strategy, to ensure the country is not trapped in a cycle of repeated lockdowns. Charles Walker, who represents Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, said: 'The lockdown is like a nightmare that we'll never wake up from a dream where whatever door you open to escape leads back to the same place. We can't keep doing the same thing because it doesn't work.'
A Cabinet minister warned the Times that Christmas plans for many will wrecked if the R rate remains high. One economist predicted as much as £1.8billion could be wiped off the value of the economy every day that lockdown lasts. Lord Rose, the former Marks & Spencer boss, said the reintroduction of restrictions was a disaster. 'My estimate is that for every day it carries on, you can say it is between two and three weeks of recovery time,' he added. 'So, if it goes on for a month, that's possibly a year's recovery time.'
Mark Littlewood, from the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: 'We have now reached the point in terms of both our health and our wealth where the cure is worse than the disease.'
The Prime Minister was given warnings by his chief scientific and medical advisers that the NHS could be overwhelmed by Covid-19. But last night the Department of Health refused to release the dossier that helped tip England back into lockdown. The projection of a possible 4,000 daily deaths by Christmas from Cambridge University in conjunction with Public Health England significantly outstripped all other estimates. Mr Johnson announced the second lockdown, which will begin on Thursday, during a Downing Street press conference on Saturday. Pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops will be forced to close, although, unlike the first lockdown in March, schools will remain open. Addressing MPs in the House of Commons this afternoon, he is expected to say: 'Models of our scientists suggest that unless we act now, we could see deaths over the winter that are twice as bad or more compared with the first wave. Faced with these latest figures, there is no alternative but to take further action at a national level. I know some in the House believe we should have reached this decision earlier, but 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.'
A Whitehall source said: 'The next three or four months are going to be very tough. Hopefully we can ease things up a bit after a month, but that isn't certain and we are still going to have to keep our foot on the brake to a certain extent.'
Mr Gove, who is Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said ministers would be 'guided by the facts', adding: 'We do need to get the R rate below 1.' Asked whether an extension was possible, he told Sky News: 'Yes.'
He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: 'If the Government don't use this time to fix test, trace and isolate, then I think December 2 will be a review date, not an end date. If you don't test you can't trace, if you don't trace you can't isolate.'
Second lockdown will be the 'final death blow' for thousands of British businesses, industry leaders warn as leading economist predicts new measures will cost £1.8billion per day
A second lockdown will be the 'final death blow' for thousands of British businesses, industry leaders warned last night. As one leading economist predicted the lockdown will cost the UK £1.8billion per day, bosses of businesses from Waterstones to Rocco Forte Hotels lashed out at the 'disastrous' restrictions which could devastate the High Street. Economist Douglas McWilliams, founder of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said shutting the country down for at least a month from Thursday will wipe £1.8billion off the value of the economy for every day it lasts. He forecasts the gloom to push into next year, meaning the UK's coronavirus recession is likely to last until the spring. As Christmas parties are cancelled and High Streets are closed, businesses and consumers are expected to slash their spending. This will have a knock-on effect on the public purse as VAT takings slump. And as more businesses struggle to make ends meet and teeter on the brink of collapse, job losses are expected to rise despite the extension of the furlough scheme. This will blow a hole in household finances, according to accountancy firm EY, which is expecting banks to increase the number of loans they have to write off as customers fail to meet repayments. Sir Rocco Forte, chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels, said: 'The hospitality industry and the whole entertainment industry is already on its knees and this is the final death blow. You can have furlough and other schemes which reduce the business outgoings, but if you have no income you can't survive. It's a never-ending nightmare the second lockdown is a disaster.'
The restrictions come as restaurants and pubs were gearing up for the Christmas rush in an effort to make back some of the income they had lost over spring and summer. Des Gunewardena, co-founder of restaurant chain D&D London which runs venues such as Bluebird Chelsea, said: 'December is an absolutely crucial month for our business. It's really important that the Government does everything they can to get cases under control so we can open up for four weeks.'
John O'Reilly, chief executive of Rank Group which owns 77 Mecca bingo halls and 51 Grosvenor casinos, added: 'Hospitality businesses like ours are forced to lean into another month of misery after a series of setbacks and restrictions.'
Retailers are also gearing up for a 'catastrophic' Christmas as shoppers shun the High Street. James Daunt, chief executive of Waterstones, said: 'In the longer term I'm really worried about what the High Street we're on will look like in the spring. We really need the independent and smaller retailers around us to make up the ecosystem.'
The number of visitors across all brick-and-mortar shops is expected to plunge by 62 per cent on last year between November 22 and December 26, according to data company Springboard. High Streets will be hit harder than other locations, such as shopping centres and retail parks, with an 87 per cent drop in visitors. Despite the lockdown being due to end on December 2, Springboard thinks shoppers will be trying to save money and will prefer to shop online. Diane Wehrle, of Springboard, said the measures were 'catastrophic for the retail industry'. She said: 'Most consumers are likely to have completed a vast amount of shopping online in advance and may well have fears of returning to brick-and-mortar stores.'
The anger from business leaders came as the CEBR warned that the second wave of coronavirus cases could slash 5 to 10 per cent off economies in the Western world every month that restrictions last. Mr McWilliams said: 'Losing a lot of Christmas-related spending will have a distinct impact since December retail sales are about 50 per cent higher than the monthly average.'
And as unemployment bites, many British households will struggle to make ends meet, according to EY. The firm predicts banks will have to write off 2.5 per cent of loans to consumers next year up from 1.3 per cent this year and a near-decade high. Mark Littlewood, of think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: 'We have now reached the point in terms of both our health and our wealth where the cure is worse than the disease.'
UK announces 23,254 more Covid cases and 162 deaths the highest Sunday rise since May 24 but only up 7% since last Sunday
By MILLY VINCENT and JEMMA CARR FOR MAILONLINE
A further 162 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Britain today, in the highest Sunday rise seen since May. Some 23,254 cases were reported in the last 24 hours 17.5 per cent more than the 19,790 cases seen last Sunday. Britain's death toll hasn't been this high on a Sunday since May 24 when 379 people died. Last Sunday saw 151 deaths 7 per cent lower than this week's number. The figures which cover deaths in care homes, hospitals and the wider community come one day after Boris Johnson announced that England would be plunged into a second country-wide lockdown from Thursday. Under the draconian new measures, all pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops will be shut and people will only be able to leave their homes for specific reasons, such as to do essential shopping or for outdoor exercise. Of today's total death toll, 137 people died in hospital in England. All were aged between 45 and 103. All except five, aged between 45 and 81, had known underlying health conditions.
It follows another day of Covid news:
* Boris Johnson yesterday announced a four-week lockdown from Thursday until December 2, in the wake of a surge of coronavirus cases;
* New restrictions put all pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops closed;
* People can only leave their homes for specific reasons, such as to do essential shopping, for outdoor exercise, and for work if they are unable to work from home;
* Former chief scientific adviser Sir Mark Walport said the new restrictions were not as 'severe' as the first time round, and that there was a 'possibility' the restrictions may need to stay in place for more than four weeks;
* Thousands have hit the high street today to make up for lost shopping time as the second nation-wide lockdown will see essential stores shut.
In Northern Ireland, there were eight further Covid-19 deaths and 685 new cases reported. Wales saw 819 new cases and 16 deaths. Scotland saw 1,148 new cases and six further deaths. The Prime Minister faced the country last night to announce a four-week shutdown from Thursday until December 2, in the wake of a surge of coronavirus cases that could trigger thousands of deaths. But the timing was not of his choosing instead he was forced to rush out the announcement after his plans were leaked from a secret ministerial meeting on Friday. Downing Street officials were infuriated to read details of the lockdown in the first editions of Saturday's Daily Mail, just hours after the decision had been taken by the 'quad' of Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Mr Hancock. It forced Mr Johnson to bring forward the announcement of the measure from Monday to yesterday, despite many details still being finalised. The leak meant that the shutdown was on the front pages before the rest of the Cabinet had been told about the decision. Cabinet Office Minister Mr Gove said today he did not leak details of the new coronavirus lockdown restrictions before the Government intended to announce them - nor did he know who he source might be. Mr Johnson has launched an inquiry the find the source of the leak, but Mr Gove insisted it was not him. And as unemployment bites, many British households will struggle to make ends meet, according to EY. The firm predicts banks will have to write off 2.5 per cent of loans to consumers next year up from 1.3 per cent this year and a near-decade high. Mark Littlewood, of think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: 'We have now reached the point in terms of both our health and our wealth where the cure is worse than the disease.'