More than two-thirds of Britons BACK Keir Starmer’s demand for a two-week circuit breaker lockdown at half term with just a fifth of the public against the idea
- Some 68% of those questioned by YouGov backed the plan to some extent
- Just one in five people (20 per cent) said they opposed a two-week shutdown
- Boris Johnson branded idea ‘miserable’ and vowed to stick with local shutdowns
The British public overwhelmingly backs a short, sharp nationwide lockdown at half-term, a new poll revealed today.
A full 68 per cent of those questioned by YouGov backed the plan to some extent.
Just one in five people (20 per cent) said they opposed the plan being championed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as a way to get a grip on a surge in coronavirus and reduce long-term damage to the economy.
Britain’s daily Covid-19 cases have jumped 40 per cent in a week as health officials today announced 19,724 more infections and 137 new deaths.
But in brutal clashes at PMQs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed calls from Sir Keir and his own SAGE scientific advisors for a ‘miserable’ national ‘circuit breaker’.
Just one in five people (20 per cent) said they opposed the plan being championed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as a way to get a grip on a surge in coronavirus and reduce long-term damage to the economy
In brutal clashes at PMQs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed calls from Sir Keir and his own SAGE scientific advisors for a ‘miserable’ national ‘circuit breaker’
He insisted that his job was to balance the economic and wider interests of the country with the science. ‘The advice that I have today is that if you do the regional approach … we can bring down the R. We can bring down the virus.’
The premier accused Labour of ‘opportunism’ for coming out in favour of the move last night, despite previously endorsing local crackdowns.
But Sir Keir shot back: ‘We’re at a tipping point. Time is running out.’
The YouGov poll of almost 3,400 people today suggests Mr Johnson is out of step with the mood of the public.
The idea of a two-week closure starting on Monday enjoys cross party support, with 65 per cent of Tory voters backing it, as well as 76 per cent of Labour voters and 75 per cent of Lib Dems.
Rumours were swirling today that Mr Johnson is seriously considering a ‘circuit breaker’. Some schools, including most private schools, have their half-term next week, while others are the following week. One source told the Telegraph the PM is 80 per cent likely to order the closure of pubs, restaurants and some other firms.
Northern Ireland is set for a period of intensified coronavirus restrictions after executive ministers agreed to closures of schools, pubs and restaurants for four weeks. A form of ‘circuit breaker’ is already in place in Scotland, and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said today that he is leaning towards imposing one.
But Tory MPs and Cabinet ministers vented fury at SAGE – despite claims that behind the scenes the PM is seriously considering the option at school half-term and him saying this afternoon that he ‘rules nothing out’.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned of an ‘economic emergency’ saying a second national lockdown would be a ‘dramatic’ measure and create ‘significant damage’ to people’s lives. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey flatly denied that new nationwide measures were on the cards before the end of the month.
The PM is being assailed on both sides by ‘hawks’ and ‘doves’ in his own top team, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock engaged in angry exchanges with rebels in the Commons last night.
Two senior SAGE experts have produced estimates that a short sharp shock lockdown from October 24 could reduce deaths by between 3,000 and 107,000. Another, Wellcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar, slammed Mr Johnson for achieving the ‘worst of all worlds’.
There are mounting signs of anxiety within Downing Street about its approach, after it emerged publicly that the PM has been defying his scientific advice for weeks.