AFTER A DAY of plots, counter plots and demands that he go, PM Johnson, in his lunchtime statement to the House of Commons, attempted to win back the Tory Party by dumping his Plan B for dealing with the Covid virus.
He told MPs: ‘This morning the Cabinet concluded because of the extraordinary booster campaign, together with the way that the public have responded to the Plan B measures, we can return to Plan A in England and allow planned regulations to expire.’
He simply ignored the the current peak in coronavirus deaths.
Tuesday’s figures showed that the UK has recorded 438 new coronavirus deaths, its highest daily total since 24 February last year and a further 94,432 cases – all in a single day!
Ignoring these deaths, Johnson continued in victory mode: ‘As a result from the start of Thursday next week mandatory certification will end.
‘Organisations can of course choose to use the NHS Covid Pass voluntarily but we end the compulsory use of Covid status certification in England.
‘From now on the government is not asking people to work from home.
‘People should now speak to their employers about arrangements for returning to the office.
‘After looking at the data carefully, the Cabinet concluded that once regulations lapse, the government will no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere.
‘From tomorrow, we will no longer require wearing face masks in classrooms and the Department of Education will shortly lay out national guidance in their use in communal areas.
‘In the country at large, we will continue to suggest the use of face coverings in enclosed or crowded places, particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet, but we will trust the judgement of the British people.
‘And no chance of criminalising anyone who chooses not to wear one.
‘The government will also ease restrictions further on visits to care homes.
‘As we return to Plan A, the House will note that some measures still remain, including those on self-isolation.
‘In particular, it is still a legal requirement for those who have tested positive to self-isolate.
‘On Monday, we reduce the isolation code to five full days with two negative tests and there will soon come a time when we can remove the legal requirement to self-isolate altogether, just as we don’t face legal obligations of those to self-isolate if they have flu.’
Labour Leader Keir Starmer, after all his bluster calling for Johnson’s head over ‘Party Gate’, duly declared his support for going back to Plan A, supporting the Tory PM’s measures.
Starmer said: ‘The Labour Party does not want to see restrictions in place any longer than necessary. We will support the relaxation of Plan B as long as the science says that it is safe.’
He added: ‘With new variants highly likely we must have a robust plan to live well with Covid.’
With a seemingly united parliament behind him, one would never guess that David Davis, the Tory MP, during PMQs earlier in the day, had called for Johnson to resign.
Davis said: ‘So I’ll remind him of a quotation altogether too familiar to him – of Leo Amery to Neville Chamberlain – “You have sat there too long, for all you have done. In the name of God, go!”.’
