Labour has a crucial role to play as the UK lifts coronavirus restrictions

The Prime Minister has officially returned to work. To mark his first day back, he delivered a speech outside 10 Downing Street less than an hour ago. Boris Johnson warned that although it seems the UK is “passing through the peak” there is still a serious risk of a “second spike” that must be avoided. “I understand your impatience. I share your anxiety,” he told the country’s “wealth creators”. He talked about “firing up the engines of the economy one by one” and the need to “refine” the restrictions. ‘Lifting the lockdown’ is no longer the preferred phrase because there is a recognition that the next steps will be modifications rather than a wholesale shift back to ‘normality’.

Does “firing up the engines of the economy one by one” refer to taking a sectoral approach to relaxing coronavirus measures? While the UK Labour Party led by Keir Starmer has not wanted to express views on specific options for exit plans, arguing that setting up a “rival strategy” would be unhelpful, Labour mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has shared his thoughts. He has rejected either a regional or sectoral approach, describing the former as “unworkable” and latter as “unfair”. Instead, he wants to see a “standards-led” approach whereby “permission to open is linked to businesses’ ability to operate safe working standards and social distancing”.

The Prime Minister promised in his statement that he would try to reach consensus in the process of easing restrictions, and vowed to aim for “maximum possible transparency”. The priorities set out by Burnham align with the obvious focus of the labour movement over the coming weeks. The TUC has released a report today that says “tough new measures” will need to be implemented before people return to their workplaces. The union body wants every UK employer to have to conduct a coronavirus-specific risk assessment, which would be developed with unions and workers. These demands should be the starting point of any consensus.

Johnson referred to the “impatience” and “anxiety” of workers and businesses, and this is how the Telegraph has portrayed public opinion. The paper claimed that polling showed a majority want to see restaurants “reopen as soon as new infections decrease” – not mentioning the stated caveat “with monitoring and restrictions” was included. Deltapoll survey results suggest that people are much more likely to be worried about lifting restrictions too quickly (63%) than too slowly (21%). The new TUC polling offers similar evidence. Labour must help to ensure that workers are protected and prioritised, and that the Tories cannot put private wealth ahead of public health while bringing the UK out of lockdown.