One Tory MP told MailOnline the PM must bring forward the arbitrary dates in order to ‚maintain public confidence that we are getting our freedom as soon as possible‘. Steve Baker, of the Covid Recovery Group, called on No10 to ask SAGE to see whether the relaxation of restrictions could be safely brought forward.
Archiv: Steve Baker
Tory rebels accuse Boris Johnson of following ‚dates, not data‘ on lockdown easing as they argue ‚increasingly positive‘ vaccination numbers mean ‚we should be able to get back to normal more quickly‘
Mark Harper, the chairman of the Covid Recovery Group, said ‚reasonable people‘ will now be questioning why Mr Johnson does not speed up the easing of restrictions.
Meanwhile, the CRG‘s Steve Baker echoed a similar sentiment as he said ‚the time has come for this dark chapter in our history to come to an end‘ amid fears of extending the Government‘s draconian Covid powers.
UK Covid: ‚we want this lockdown to be the last,‘ says Boris Johnson, as he calls for ‚optimism and patience‘ – as it happened
The level of coronavirus infections is still high and the number of hospitalisations higher than they were during the first peak, Chris Whitty said.
Boris Johnson is desperate to avoid a rebellion by Tory MPs – hence talk of ‘irreversible’ lockdown easing
However, the PM cannot ignore 63 of his own MPs. He knows how strongly they feel about lockdown easing. Some 53 Tories voted against his tiered system in December. He will probably want to renew some of the current restrictions when they expire on 31 March.
Coronavirus: Plan to exit lockdown ‚cautious but irreversible‘, says Boris Johnson
It comes as a group of Tory MPs call for a commitment to a „free life“ and ending of lockdown measures before May.
Senior backbencher Steve Baker said he wants the prime minister to „let us reclaim our lives, once and for all“.
Boris Johnson under pressure after eighteen Tory MPs back call to open schools in England by Feb 22
Among the 18 Tories who signed the pledge that „All schools should open full-time to all pupils from Feb 22 to March 8 are former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, ex-ministers Steve Baker, Tim Loughton and Harriet Baldwin, and chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs Sir Graham Brady.
700 million days of schooling were lost in 2020. And every day schools stay shut, the attainment gap widens. We must act now. Govt must #REOPENSCHOOLS or set out the harms and benefits justifying the decision to keep them closed. Join @UsforThemUK
(26.01.2021)
https://usforthem.co.uk/