LOCK AND A HARD PLACE
Boris Johnson mulls decision to plunge millions in the North into tougher lockdown as Covid cases soar
BORIS Johnson is grappling with the desperately difficult decision of whether to plunge millions in the North back into tougher lockdown.
The Prime Minister offered a vision of hope yesterday but admitted Britain still faces one of history’s “darkest moments” with Covid cases soaring again.
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He warned we must fight “night and day to repel this virus” but there is “simply no reasonable alternative” to restrictions.
Pubs and restaurants face closure in Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak scrambling to put together a local bailout package for businesses facing ruin.
Some shops could also be forced to shut, but workplaces and schools would remain open.
Mr Johnson’s message came after Downing Street was hit with a “white-faced briefing” from senior medics about soaring virus numbers in the North West and North East.
It prompted the PM to delay his plan to replace complex local lockdown rules with a simpler traffic light system.
A No 10 source said: “The numbers are going the wrong way, and there will come a point very soon where we simply have to do more.”
Nationwide, the daily infection rate was 14,542 — up around 2,000 in 24 hours — with 76 deaths.
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The worst-hit area is Manchester, where 3,105 new cases were recorded in the seven days to October 3 — the equivalent of 561.6 per 100,000 people.
That is up from 261.2 in the week before.
Merseyside is next, with Knowsley and Liverpool both recording sharp rises over 500 per 100,000, followed by Newcastle upon Tyne.
The UK-wide seven-day average rate stands at 125.7 cases per 100,000, up from 63.8 a week ago.
Some 478 people were taken to hospital in England with Covid on Sunday, the most in four months, and up from 241 a week earlier.
Alarm bells are also ringing across the North West about rising numbers admitted to hospital.
The region saw 208 people admitted in one day on October 4, the highest single total since the end of April.
Nationwide there were 2,833 patients in hospital with Covid on Tuesday, up from 1,881 a week earlier, and 393 on ventilators, compared with 259 seven days ago.
But Northern Mayors have clubbed together to oppose new lockdown measures today - saying they are not working and the 10pm curfew is even counter-productive.
The leaders of Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle city councils - Judith Blake, Sir Richard Leese and Nick Forbes - joined Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson to write to the Health Secretary to say they are "extremely concerned" with the rise in cases.
"The existing restrictions are not working, confusing for the public and some, like the 10pm rule, are counter-productive," the Labour politicians wrote.
They called for additional powers to punish those who break rules, and for new restrictions to be developed by police, council and public health experts and for a locally-controlled test and trace system.
They added: "We want to be clear however that we do not support further economic lockdowns."
'ALIEN INVADER'
In his Tory party conference speech, Mr Johnson admitted: “I have had more than enough of this disease that attacks not only human beings but so many of the greatest things about our country — our pubs, our clubs, our football, our theatre and all the gossipy gregariousness and love of human contact that drives the creativity of our economy.”
He insisted that if we obey the rules the country will beat the virus “just as this country has seen off every alien invader for the last thousand years”.
Addressing the annual conference, which is being held virtually because of the pandemic, the PM appeared to suggest restrictions will be over by this time next year.
He told party members that “next time we meet it will be face to face and cheek by jowl, and we are working for the day when life will be back to normal”.
However Mr Johnson is facing a growing rebellion from Tory MPs ahead of Commons votes to approve the 10pm pub curfew.
Tonight 17 voted against a government motion approving the “rule of six” — with ex-ministers breaking cover to slam it.
The rebels included former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, Tory grandee Sir Graham Brady and powerful committee bosses Huw Merriman and William Wragg.
Labour also hinted they could stand against the curfew in a vote which may be held next week.
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Mr Johnson insisted he “deeply regretted” taking tough measures.
The PM said: “This government has been forced by the pandemic into erosions of liberty that we deeply regret and to an expansion in the role of the state from lockdown enforcement to the many bailouts and subsidies that go against our instincts.
"But we accept them because there is simply no reasonable alternative.”
But former Tory Chancellor Norman Lamont said he feared Britain was turning into a “nation of informers”.
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He told the House of Lords: “It’s one thing to report your neighbour if you see that he is building a bomb factory.
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“If he is holding a barbecue for seven people are you really going to report him?
"I deplore any suggestion we should become a nation of informers like the old East Germany.”
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Boris Johnson hints 'social distancing will end in a year' as he vows to work 'night and day to see off virus'
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