Plan B rules activated as government meltdown continues

Plan B Covid restrictions are to be introduced in England to slow the spread of the rapidly multiplying Omicron cases, Boris Johnson has confirmed at a Downing Street press conference this evening. But with Number 10 already in meltdown over Partygate, the exceptionally bad timing of the PM’s tightening of restrictions will be lost on no-one.

From Monday, WFH guidance will be re-introduced, face masks will be required in most indoor public venues, such as cinemas and theatres, and Covid passes proving vaccination or a negative test will be required in nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather. 

Johnson has insisted the measures are “proportionate and responsible”, as the confirmed cases of Omicron reaches 600, with the true number thought to be closer to 10,000. 

While there is still no data to suggest that Omicron leads to more severe illness than the Delta strain, cases of this “significantly more” transmissible variant are doubling every two to three days in the UK, according to Chris Whitty. And SAGE has warned that Omicron hospital admissions could reach at least 1000 a day by the end of the year if tougher restrictions aren’t put in place.

Yet there could hardly be a less fortunate day to tighten the rules for millions of exasperated Brits. 

Laura Kuenssberg the BBC’s political editor, spoke for much of the nation when she asked the PM how he could stand at the same lectern “where some of your team laughed and joked about Covid rules and tell people they must now follow your new restrictions?”

Just hours before the PM called the press conference, Allegra Stratton, his former spokeswoman, resigned after humiliating footage emerged last night, showing her and other aides chuckling about holding an illicit Christmas party, just four days after the Downing Street do is alleged to have taken place – on 18 December last year, at a time when indoor mixing was strictly prohibited. Stratton has said this afternoon that she will regret the remarks for the rest of her life. 

The PM has apologised for the video, which “sickened” him, and has promised to hold an investigation into the matter. But he is still insisting he knew nothing about this alleged event and has been “repeatedly assured” that no such party took place. 

The public don’t seem convinced. According to a snap poll conducted today, over half of them believe the Prime Minister should resign in light of the debacle. The 54% voicing this opinion includes 33% of 2019 Conservative voters – an indication that this saga could jeopardise the Conservatives’ chance of holding onto their North Shropshire seat, as the by-election to replace disgraced Tory MP Owen Paterson looms. 

Inevitably, just like with the Cummings Barnard Castle shambles, this new scandal is conjuring up familiar anger about double-standards. The COVID-19 Bereaved Families For Justice UK has accused the PM of “setting a culture where breaches of the rules are laughed about and the rules only apply to some”.

More crucially still, there is the same fear that a calamitous fall in the trust of government will undermine its updated public health message – at a critical moment. 

Many will now be wondering, how our government has the moral authority – and indeed the nerve – to impose any new restrictions, plus will the public pay any attention to them, when yet again, those in charge don’t appear to be following their own rules?