Britain’s third lockdown could continue until 31 March and school exams have again been cancelled, said Boris Johnson addressing the Commons this afternoon. Parliament was recalled from its Christmas break today to debate and vote on the new restrictions which came into force overnight.
The law did not have to pass through Parliament before coming into force. The government was granted emergency powers last March which were renewed in September, allowing it to implement restrictions and only retrospectively seek Parliament’s approval; hence today’s vote.
Johnson began PMQs today on a positive note, pointing out that the vaccine provides a “means of escape” from the current restrictions, and that 1.3 million people have already received the jab in the UK, more than the rest of Europe combined. He defended the decision to close schools and implement a third lockdown as necessary in light of the new Covid variant – to which he attributes the increased number of cases and positive tests in hospital – and to protect the clinically vulnerable until they are vaccinated.
