PM To Deliver Statement On New COVID-19 Lockdown To Parliament At 1530GMT

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to address the House of Commons at just after 1530GMT (1030ET, 1630CET) regarding the new lockdown for England that will come into force at midnight on Thursday.

• Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JLHd7_AE-M
• New rules will see the whole of England move into a similar lockdown to that in place in the spring, with hospitality and leisure venues, beauty salons/hairdressers, and other non-essential shops closed, meeting with any other household prohibited outside of one-on-one meetings in public parks, and individuals recommended to remain at home as much as possible. Schools, nurseries, and universities will, though, remain open.
• The new restrictions will see the furlough scheme (where the gov't pays 80% of the wages of furloughed workers) extended to the end of the lockdown period.
• The gov't is facing significant criticism over its handling of the announcement. For a number of weeks, PM Johnson has criticised calls for a national lockdown, saying the risk posed to people's jobs was too high, only to then U-turn on the decision. Johnson also faces growing anger from backbench Conservative MPs opposed to re-entering a strict lockdown due to the huge economic and social costs of doing so.