Lockdown: Tighter rules ‘are not needed’ says Iain Duncan Smith

Lockdown restrictions have resulted in a poor start to 2021. Current restrictions mean all non-essential retail and hospitality are closed, as well as a ban on mixing with friends and family that you do not live with. The restrictions have been put in place for six weeks in England, but are continually reviewed by ministers.

When is lockdown being reviewed?

Current restrictions are due to last until February, but no set date has been cast for when restrictions will ease.

Given the lockdown rules were enshrined into law on Wednesday, January 6, the first mandatory review will occur on Wednesday, January 20.

Following that, the next review is to be expected on Wednesday, February 3.

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However, the current level of restrictions is expected to last until at least the February half term.

Announcing the lockdown rules at the beginning of January, the Prime Minister said: “The restrictions will come into effect [on January 5], and are expected to last until the middle of February if the situation in hospitals improve.

“By this point, the NHS hopes to have vaccinated everyone in the top four priority groups – including older care home residents and staff, everyone over 70, all frontline NHS and care staff and all those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.”

Mr Johnson added: “These restrictions will be kept under continuous review with a statutory requirement to review every two weeks and a legal obligation to remove them if they are no longer deemed necessary to limit the transmission of the virus.”

There has been considerable speculation that lockdown rules will tighten in recent days, following consistently high numbers of hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19.

The current lockdown is not as harsh as the original March lockdown, when we were only allowed to be outside of our homes for one hour a day.

On Sunday, senior ministers held an emergency coronavirus meeting to discuss and review how England third national lockdown was working.

They also examined whether tougher restrictions would be required to stop the rise in new cases and deaths.

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However, today The former Tory frontbencher Iain Duncan-Smith told talkRadio’s Julia Hartley-Brewer “I don’t think there needs to be any tightening up I just feel people need to use their common sense.

“You can understand what the rules are, most people do,” he continued.

“If we keep on focusing on the those who we keep saying are breaking the rules we fail to recognise that the vast vast majority of the British public are actually doing their level best to stick to the rules.

“Do they make mistakes, yes, because there are pages and pages of rules and what to do.

“But are they basically trying to follow the spirit of those, I think most people are.

He added: added: “Of course you are going to get those who for reasons that they declare, they are opposed to it and therefor deliberating set out to break it.

“But they are a tiny tiny majority. The truth is the vast majority are doing their level best and sometimes it’s difficult because people have got to earn a living.

“Also we complained at the beginning of the first lockdown how so few children at risk ended up in schools, this time around they are much better at it.

“Now people are complaining that are too many children in school, honestly I’m for the balance of at-risk children going and having a place to be.”

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