Sir Keir Starmer has said national coronavirus restrictions now “seem inevitable”, as he told Boris Johnson that Labour would back any government order to recall parliament should a vote on new measures be required.
After Mr Johnson introduced new tier 4 restrictions and cancelled the Christmas plans of millions at the weekend in response to a new virus variant and surging rates of Covid-19, Sir Keir said: “The situation is clearly very serious.”
“It is important that the government is now straight with the British people about the hard choices that are ahead and the steps that are necessary to get back control of the virus.
“Sadly, it does now seem inevitable that further national restrictions will be necessary”.
Speaking alongside the prime minister at the No 10 press briefing on Monday, Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific advisor, said it was “likely” measures will need to be increased in other areas of the country in response to the new variant of Covid-19.
His comments were echoed by Professor John Edmunds, a member of Sage, who added on Tuesday: “It does look like the virus is probably across the country already so I do think that we might, unfortunately, have to impose tougher restrictions across the country.”
As it stands, Wales is already in lockdown and both Northern Ireland and mainland Scotland will introduce national measures to control the spread of coronavirus immediately after the Christmas period.
London, and vast swathes of southeast England, are also subject to tier 4 measures, resembling lockdown restrictions imposed earlier this year with “stay at home” orders.
Citing the decision of the government not to follow the advice of Sage in September and introduce a national circuit-breaker lockdown, Sir Keir added: “That decision to delay led to a longer, deeper lockdown that caused further damage to the economy. We cannot make the same mistake again.”
“No one wants to see further restrictions or another damaging national lockdown.
“However, we must be honest about the seriousness of the situation. For some parts of the country, we appear to already be in a third wave. But areas of the midlands and the north have been in lockdown for months. The last thing the NHS and businesses there can afford is a third wave caused by a slow response to the latest scientific advice and data.”
The Labour leader urged the government to publish any proposals on further restrictions recommended by scientific advisers “in full” and “immediately”.
He added: “At this moment of national crisis, we need strong, clear and decisive leadership from the government. Labour is prepared to support you in the national effort in taking those decisions.
“If parliament must be recalled to vote for tougher restrictions, we are ready to back you – even if that means further restrictions before the end of the year.
“The vaccine offers the only way out of the pandemic in the long term. That’s why any further restrictions in England must be accompanied by a plan to get the vaccine rolled out as quickly as possible.”
