(Title Image: via Twitter)
Welsh Conservatives have been left embarrassed after the UK Government announced a four-week lockdown in England, set to start on 5th November 2020. Covid-19 cases in England were said to be increasing beyond “the worst-case scenario” and threatened to overwhelm the English NHS.
After voting against additional lockdown measures in Wales, Welsh Conservative MSs and MPs – as well as the UK’s right-wing press and political commentators – have been vocally critical to the point of outrage over the Welsh Government’s two-week “firebreak”, which will end on November 9th 2020.
A similar lockdown is in place in Northern Ireland, while the Scottish Government has introduced a five-tier system of variable local lockdowns.
England, by contrast, is set to remain in lockdown conditions for much longer, resulting in all English hospitality businesses and non-essential retailers closing until December 2nd.
Shadow Health Minister, Andrew RT Davies MS (Con, South Wales Central), continued to oppose national-level lockdown measures, believing shielding of vulnerable groups would cause less damage to the economy.
Since the announcement, the UK Chancellor confirmed the pandemic furlough scheme will be extended until the end of the English lockdown.
This prompted a furious reaction from the Welsh Government, whose request for a job support scheme to be brought forward in Wales (after they announced the firebreak lockdown) was turned down by the UK Government.
The cross-border implications mean that the Welsh Government has said people shouldn’t travel to England during their lockdown unless it’s essential.
