Rishi's Right To Help Business And Resist Another Lockdown

IT’S good news Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced support for hard hit hospitality and leisure venues this Christmas with one-off grants of up to £6,000 each and a £100million of discretionary funding available from local councils. Government will also cover statutory sick pay for Covid-related absences in small and medium-sized businesses.

- Tim Newark

With the majority of us vaccinated and evidence so far that Omicron is a milder form of Covid – plus 52 per cent of Express readers saying they’ll ignore any further restrictions – Chancellor Sunak and a majority of Cabinet ministers are right to think twice about plunging us into another total lockdown before Christmas, damaging our general health and the economy.

Plan B has already caused enormous damage to the retail and hospitality sector across the UK. Christmas party cancellations have hit restaurants just at the time they hope to make enough money to keep them ticking over for the rest of the year. Just one London restaurant reported 900 cancellations in 48 hours.

Nightclub operator Rekom, with 40 venues across the UK, hopes to make 10 per cent of its annual profits just on New Year’s Eve but that looks in doubt as the Government dangles yet more social restrictions over us from next week.

Almost half of London theatres have cancelled performances this weekend and several museums and galleries are closing early for Christmas.

SHOPS have stocked their shelves in anticipation of shoppers now being dissuaded from thronging to high streets. Restaurants and cafés are disposing of food ordered for cancelled parties.