On Saturday, SAGE recommended in writing a ban on indoor household mixing and closing non essential shops (Step 1/2 below) the sooner the better.
Still no government decision
Commons authorities think Gvt now not planning to recall Parliament until Dec 29 - a week Wednesday
There is clearly massive government pushback against Johnson introducing restrictions from the Cabinet. Rishi Sunak and Steve Barclay amongst those in the resistance.
More critical briefings against Gvt scientists going on.
Step 2 from the roadmap - as per @patrickkmaguire@PippaCrerar - seems to be most likely option - shops open, restaurants serving outdoors only rule of 6
“preliminary modelling suggests that without any changes to measures in place, the number of hospitalisations from Omicron may reach 1,000 per day or higher in England by the end of the year (and still be increasing at that point)."
SAGE: “With the speed of growth seen, decision makers will need to consider response measures urgently to reduce transmission if the aim is to reduce the likelihood of unsustainable pressure on the NHS."
Speaking at a vaccine clinic in North London, Boris Johnson told TV pool:
- need to make “another great surge” on vaccinations and “we will throw everything at it”
- “we’ve no doubt at all the NHS, all the volunteers, the army can rise to that challenge”
Boris Johnson /2
- cancel holidays? Nativities? “we are not changing the guidance on how you should live your life except in a couple of ways” - masks and checks on travellers
Boris Johnson /3
- so why did Jenny Harries talk today about avoiding unnecessary socialising? “It’s always sensible to be careful that’s what Jenny is saying … people should continue to get fresh air and wash hands but we’re not going to change the overall guidance”
How do you “ban second jobs” for MPs when being a minister is a “second job” on top of being an MP.
So any crackdown would be about what forms of extracurricular work permitted
Is anything funded by government/state OK? Anything above a certain £? Certain industries? Books?
You are quickly into very tricky areas - once you’re arguing about definitions of professions and activities, the chances of reform actually happening diminish quickly
The danger is that you get into MPs trying to define what “good” outside jobs are (part time helping as an NHS first responder) and “bad” outside jobs (receiving money from a PR agency)
But people’s view of what is morally acceptable differs and shifts over time
2/ Sky News has also learnt cabinet ministers are discussing mid-November as a likely moment for triggering Article 16.
Number 10 says a negotiated outcome is their preference and point out Article 16 process has its limitations
3/ Lord Frost has been holding meetings with Tory MPs to minimise opposition if A16 is triggered. "The message was: trust us" said one MP present. "They did Brexit, they know what they're doing" is the message.