PMQs: Johnson sets out a plan to undermine NHS test and trace

Prime Minister’s Questions today followed the ‘freedom day’ announcement on Monday. Specifically, that the government will press ahead to lift almost all Covid restrictions on July 19th. The Labour leader came out quickly to attack the decision as “reckless“, and one driven more by “party management” than public health, earlier this week. He called for wearing of face masks, increased ventilation and isolation payment measures to remain. But a nuanced position is a difficult one in PMQs; Johnson asked Starmer to confirm, no less than six times, whether the leader of the opposition fundamentally supports removing restrictions later this month.

“We should open up in a controlled way,” Starmer said, reiterating the measures above and tagging on “making sure the track and trace system remains effective” – an important addition. His position was more subtle than the black-and-white answer Johnson demanded. Instead of focusing on July 19th, Starmer took aim at “the next big problem that’s heading down the track”. What is the PM going to do should cases reach 100,000, resulting in estimates upwards of two million people being “pinged” by the track and trace app? How will he stop people deleting the app rather than facing inconvenience at best and economic hardship at worst? Describing the disruption to families as the summer holidays begin and leveraging the basis of the PM’s argument for unlocking, getting the economy up and running, he warned: “It won’t feel like freedom day to the businesses already warning of carnage because of the loss of staff and customers.”

Johnson accused Starmer of trying to “have it both ways”, by saying it is both reckless to reopen and “attacking” the self-isolation regime. The PM then went on to set out a plan that can only be described as trying to have it both ways. “We will be moving away from self-isolation towards testing in the course of the next few weeks,” he told parliament, setting a soft deadline (based on dates not data). He then went on to assure that we will continue with self-isolation “for as long as that is necessary”. So, which is it? As pointed out by Starmer, Johnson intends to undermine his own test and trace programme, which the government has spent billions on, by not ensuring people can isolate. He does not much care if people stay at home, never mind the consequences – not least the ramifications of large parts of the population suffering from long Covid.

Chasing freedom day headlines and managing his Covid-denying, ‘liberty’-loving backbenchers led the PM to his announcement on Monday. Today, he was robust in exploiting the nuance in Labour’s position, telling MPs: “This is unlike the law, where you can attack from lots of different positions at once. To oppose, you must have a credible and clear alternative.” But Starmer has laid the groundwork for the next few weeks, if not months, on an issue that could become a running sore for Johnson. Relaxing restrictions while cases rise will not hopefully mean the deaths seen earlier in the pandemic, thanks to the vaccine. But as more and more people get pinged by the NHS app, will the potentially millions stay home en-masse? If they do not, we could all reap the consequences later. If they do, many will struggle to get by financially and freedom day could prove to be anything but.