Evaluation: That is the PM’s largest U-turn but
By Jon Craig, chief political correspondent
Three days in the past, Boris Johnson declared: “I need to be clear, we do not need to ban Christmas, to cancel it.
“I believe that will be frankly inhuman and towards the instincts of many individuals on this nation.
“Nor can we need to criminalise plans folks could have made for a while.”
Now, within the largest U-turn on this yr of spectacular prime ministerial U-turns, he has completed simply that.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Johnson goaded Sir Keir Starmer – whom he commonly calls “Captain Hindsight” – repeatedly.
“All he needs to do is to lock the entire nation down,” mentioned the PM. “He’s a one-club golfer; that’s the solely resolution he has.”
The PM went on: “I want he had had the center simply to say what he actually needs to do, which is to cancel the plans folks have made and cancel Christmas.”
These phrases look hole now. And Mr Johnson can anticipate a livid response from Conservative MPs already bitterly against his Covid restrictions.
“The Christmas family guidelines had been explicitly accepted by the Home of Commons,” Mark Harper, who chairs the Covid Restoration Group of Tory MPs, mentioned.
“So it’s only proper that if the Authorities had been to hunt to alter them that should even be accepted by a vote within the Home of Commons prematurely.”
And, voicing a view that has already been endorsed by many Tory MPs, Mr Harper added: “Parliament should not be bypassed.”
Challenged on his U-turn at this information convention, the PM started by saying: “Alas…” You all the time know grim information is coming when Boris Johnson says: “Alas…”
His reply was that he bitterly regretted the modifications, however mentioned: “When the details change, you need to change your strategy.”
It was the economist John Maynard Keynes who famously mentioned: “When the details change, I modify my thoughts.”
Who’d have thought it, a Tory chief quoting the big-spending advocate Keynes?
Though, on second ideas, after the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending splurge this yr, maybe we shouldn’t be shocked, in any case.
The PM rejected the cost that he had beforehand been reckless and ignored warnings concerning the new virus, claiming the scientific recommendation had modified considerably previously 24 hours.
And requested how he anticipated the general public to observe the foundations once they saved altering, he pleaded that the speed of the illness had modified. “We merely can’t ignore that,” he mentioned.
This was a grim 40 minutes. It was a information convention that started 11 minutes late, including to the picture of disarray in Downing Road. However no less than he didn’t hold Strictly Come Dancing off the TV this time, as he did in late November.
And as he learn his opening assertion, the Prime Minister seemed and sounded hesitant and nervous. He was sombre and muted, deflated. And nicely he is perhaps.
No Yuletide quips this time, like “merry LITTLE Christmas” or “tis the season to be jolly CAREFUL”.
Absolutely, this was essentially the most solemn public assertion Boris Johnson has ever given. The color – by no means notably rosy – appeared drained from his face.
He seemed and seemed like somebody who had suffered a bereavement, he was so subdued, or taken an excruciating and winding punch within the intestine.
He will need to have been considering consistently of the opprobrium that might be coming his means after this.
There was no various, he mentioned, to the punitive Tier 4 measures. When the virus modifications its technique of assault, he needed to change his technique of defence.
Properly, critics would dispute that. Many MPs, not least the Labour chief, will argue that he ought to have acted sooner and made extra progress by now, permitting a extra regular Christmas.
It’ll even be argued that London and south-east England have had 4 completely different Covid restriction regimes previously month.
First, a nationwide lockdown in late November, then Tier 2, then Tier 3 with a five-day Christmas break and now Tier 4 with no Christmas leisure.
The fact of the grim information introduced right here was introduced house by England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty when he was requested what he would say to folks packing a bag proper now to depart a Tier 4 space.
His recommendation: “Please unpack it.”
The grim information neatly, if brutally, summed up.
