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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson dropped plans for a second national coronavirus lockdown amid fears that Finance Minister Rishi Sunak would step down. While Sunak had warned that the economic carnage caused by a second lockdown would make his job nearly impossible, a senior deputy said. Sun It was feared that the Chancellor of the United Kingdom would find it difficult to move forward if ignored.
Sunak has repeatedly argued to keep Britain open in a bid to protect millions of jobs and businesses, yet health experts have demanded strict restrictions to stop a deadly second wave of COVID-19. Despite a call for tougher restrictions, several UK leaders have credited Sunak with saving the country on his own from a brutal regime of restrictions on freedom and movement. While speaking to the media outlet, the senior MP said it was all down to the Finance Minister that the UK avoided giving a “hammer blow” to the economy and took a more balanced approach. “Rishi saved the day,” added the deputy.
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Last week, Sunak reportedly said the nation needed to learn to “live without fear.” He released the Winter Economic Plan and said that lives can no longer be postponed. Amid the pandemic, the Chancellor had also introduced a number of measures to save jobs and businesses, including the Job Retention Plan and Eat Out To Help Out.
Johnson’s balanced approach
Johnson, along with Sunak and Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical adviser, are trying to balance the need to protect the economy and lives. However, while Sunak has been pushing to reopen the economy, Whitty has been pushing for tighter restrictions. Johnson, on the other hand, listened to the full range of arguments and took a balanced approach, with maximum social measures to lower the infection rate while having minimal impact on the economy.
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The UK, facing an “inevitable” second wave of the virus, has reported 431,817 positive cases and 42,060 deaths so far. Earlier this month, authorities implemented multiple new regulations, including fines for breaking isolation, work-from-home warning, among others. Johnson had warned that ‘difficult months’ were ahead as the battle against the coronavirus continued.
Urging people to stick to the recently imposed restrictions, the UK prime minister said that if everyone followed the rules, then Britain could come out of “winter”, adding that “difficult days” were ahead. When calling for a collective battle against the pandemic, he considered that it was time to summon all “discipline, determination and spirit of unity.”
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