to the economy, and while Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has been categorical that the National lockdown will end after four weeks have elapsed, the Prime Minister and Michael Gove have been more mitigated.
Sir Graham Brady, leader of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, told The BBC's Radio 4 that if the lockdown restrictions had been announced by a totalitarian regime, they would have been denounced as a “form of evil”.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor and an opponent of tighter restrictions, insisted that the new lockdown would end on 2 December “as a matter of law”.
“Our expectation and firm hope is that the measures put in place will be sufficient to do the job we need,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a speech to the Commons later today, the Prime Minister is expected to clarify the aim to return to a tiered, regional system in four weeks' time, "according to the latest data and trends.”
Michael Gove told Sky News that the lockdown could be extended, and added: “We want to be in a position where if we bring down the rate of infection sufficiently we can reduce measures nationally and also regionally.
"It may be the case that having reduced R below 1, having reduced national restrictions, we may see a specific upsurge in specific areas which will require specific regional measures.”
A vote on the decision is due to take place in Parliament on Wednesday, however opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer has openly expressed that the Labour Party will be voting in line with government.
An Evening Standard commentary piece commended the government's decision to lock down again, warning however that the Test and Trace system needs to be fixed and support must be targeted and taken seriously to make the sacrifices made up and down the country worthwhile.
It reads: "These sacrifices must count for something. Or we cannot reasonably expect the public compliance necessary to suppress the virus," continuing to warn: "Through error and endless promises, the Government has sapped the goodwill and benefit of the doubt it enjoyed in the spring."
Compliance with the new lockdown is indeed a concern worth pondering, as demonstrated by a poll run by British businessman and entrepreneur Simon Dolan, who is pursuing the government for what he considers to be illegal lockdown measures.
Despite the undoubtedly devastating consequences of any policy in such a crisis, social media users have stayed true to their knack of injecting humour into even the most dire of situations.
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