UK Coronavirus Live: Scotland and Wales Introduce ‘Rule of Six’ Regulations Amid Rise in Cases | Politics

Former prime minister Gordon brown It has said Britain faces a “tsunami of unemployment” unless efforts to protect jobs are stepped up.

Brown told BBC Radio 4’s Today show:

I think there should now be an operational target whereby interest rates will not rise and the stimulus will continue until employment returns to pre-crisis levels.

“It is in line with what the Federal Reserve is doing. I think other banks in the world are going to do something similar. And I think the Bank of England, at this point, is, I’m afraid, behind the curve.

“They have to send a signal that jobs really matter.

“We are facing a tsunami of unemployment.

He added that the country is currently facing the “edge of the cliff” when the government’s licensing regime ends on October 31.

Boris johnson faces uprising from some conservative supporters over new lockdown restrictions that limit social gatherings to groups of six in England.

On Friday, the Telegraph reported that older conservatives want younger children to be exempted from the so-called “rule of six” in England, while the Daily Mail claimed that Health Secretary Matt Hancock was the sole health minister. cabinet on Johnson’s coronavirus strategy committee. to support the plan in a meeting on Tuesday, the day before the prime minister announced it.

Speaking on Friday, former Conservative minister Steve Baker told BBC Radio 4’s Today show:

I think the time has come to say that this is not a suitable legal environment for the British people.

It is time to move to a voluntary system, unless the government can prove otherwise.

And it’s time we really started living as a free people, without being subjected to ever-changing legal requirements, which I think no one can fully understand now.

The changes come as coronavirus rates continue to rise in parts of England, with Leeds and Birmingham among the areas at risk from further lockdown measures.

The government has secured its first major post-Brexit trade deal after signing a deal with Japan that will boost trade by an estimated £ 15bn.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UK and Japan was agreed in principle by Ms Truss and Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in a video call on Friday morning.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said it was a “historic moment” for the two countries that will bring “new triumphs” for British companies in the manufacturing, food and beverage and technology industries.

The government said the deal brings benefits beyond the EU-Japan trade deal, giving UK companies exporting to Japan a competitive advantage.
Almost all exports to Japan (99%) will benefit from duty-free trade.

Truss said:

The deal that we have negotiated, in record time and under challenging circumstances, goes far beyond the existing EU deal, as it ensures new profits for British companies in our excellent manufacturing, food and beverage and technology industries.

“From our autoworkers in Wales to our shoemakers in the North of England, this deal will help build back better as we create new opportunities for people across the UK and help level our country.

“Strategically, the agreement is an important step in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and placing Britain at the center of a network of modern free trade agreements with like-minded friends and allies.”

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab congratulated Truss in a tweet.

Face masks will be mandatory in stores and interior spaces in Wales since Monday, the prime minister said.

Mark Drakeford said the country had reached a threshold where 20 people out of 100,000 suffered from coronavirus.

But if the rate were to drop and Covid-19 was “effectively suppressed,” the Welsh government would re-examine the issue, he said.

Wales will make indoor gatherings of more than six people illegal starting Monday, although children under 12 will not count towards that total.

It appears that new strict restrictions will be imposed on the coronavirus in Birmingham after the infections spiked.

The city of 1.14 million people is expected to have stricter rules imposed on Friday, following two days of discussions between the government and regional health leaders and local authorities.

Earlier this week, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who traveled to London to meet with officials, said the additional restrictions were “very, very likely.”

Noting that final decisions have not yet been made, he added:

[The] the simplest form of restriction would be across the city ”.

The city’s public health director, Dr. Justin Varney, said the spike was “primarily linked to private family gatherings” in late August and over the holiday weekend.

An increase in testing also yielded more positive results, he added.

Licensed venues such as pubs and bars and restaurants that violate contact tracing and social distancing rules are also believed to be part of the problem behind the rate hike.

The mayor also said that younger people “had to take responsibility” with the fastest growth in age groups under 40.

According to data from NHS Digital, the latest seven-day rate for the city as of September 8 showed 78.2 cases per 100,000 with 892 cases during the period, among the highest in Birmingham since the April peak.

Good Morning. Both of them Scotland and Welsh They are introducing stricter “rule of six” regulations amid warnings that coronavirus cases are on the rise again.

On Thursday, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she expected the new limit of six people from two households to apply indoors (houses, pubs and restaurants) and outdoors, including in private gardens.

The announcement by both countries came after Boris Johnson announced a ban on group gatherings of more than six people from up to six households in England, applying indoors and outdoors from next Monday.

The rules on wearing masks and the lockdown are also causing deeper social divisions than Brexit, according to a study across the UK.

A survey of 10,000 people found that half of the wearers of masks in Britain (58%) have severely negative attitudes towards those who do not wear a mask, and the majority (68%) of the people who did not break the rules of confinement have strong negative opinions about blockers that break the rules.

You can read more about this from our social affairs correspondent Robert Booth:

Meanwhile, British tourists face another race against time to get home before new quarantine rules go into effect in countries like Portugal and Hungary.

I’m Amy Walker, I’m here to keep you up to date with key UK coronavirus developments around the clock.