Gyms and non-essential retail to reopen in lead-up to Christmas

Boris Johnson is hoping to lace his latest COVID crackdown with more good cheer, having saved Christmas by allowing families to meet in a festive bubble.

He is unveiling a new blueprint to fight the pandemic that he hopes will not only save lives during the winter but also prevent a Commons revolt by rebel Tory MPs.

The prime minister is publishing a COVID Winter Plan, which will include tough new restrictions in England in December but a break of up to five days for Christmas.

But despite the restrictions, due to replace England’s national lockdown when it ends on 2 December, Mr Johnson will announce:

Non-essential retail will be allowed to open, in a boost for Christmas shoppers – and the high street
Gyms will be allowed to open too, so the nation doesn’t pile on the pounds in the run-up to Christmas
The 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants, which critics claim did more harm than good, will be scrapped
And a mass testing programme is to be launched in Tier 3 areas, using the Army, like the recent pilot programme in Liverpool

In a Commons statement, Mr Johnson is not expected to confirm how many households will be able to bubble together at Christmas, or how long the break in restrictions will last. That is planned for the following day.

But ministers are working on plans for three households and a five-day break, from Christmas Eve to 28 December, subject to agreement from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments.

The mass coronavirus testing programme will be launched in areas facing the toughest restrictions, in Tier 3, using the Liverpool, model, which the government claims has been a success.

Announcing the testing programme, the prime minister is expected to tell MPs: “The selflessness of people in following the rules is making a difference.

“The virus is not spreading nearly as quickly as it would if we were not washing our hands, maintaining social distance, wearing masks and so on.

“And in England, where nationwide measures came into effect at the start of this month, the increase in new cases is flattening off.

“But we are not out of the woods yet. The virus is still present in communities across the country, and remains both far more infectious and far more deadly than seasonal flu.

“But with expansion in testing and vaccines edging closer to deployment, the regional tiered system will help get the virus back under control and keep it there.”

Plans for a Christmas break from restrictions were announced after weekend talks with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Nicola Sturgeon, Mark Drakeford and Arlene Foster.

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The government is proposing “some limited additional household bubbling for a small number of days”. But the public is being urged to remain cautious and avoid travelling wherever possible.

But just hours after the announcement of the festive break was announced by the Cabinet Office, the Scottish government claimed: “No agreement has been reached and discussions are continuing.”

The dispute may be over the dates of the break. Last week Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said for some families in Scotland Hogmanay would be more important than Christmas.

“For many, bringing in new year is very important,” she said. “For some families in Scotland that may be the time they get together, even more so than Christmas, so we do have to take that into account in our planning and we need to think across the whole festive period.

In the Commons, Mr Johnson will also face fierce criticism from a growing number of Conservative MPs of his plans to re-impose the three-tier restrictions in England which were in force from 14 October until 5 November.

Although the PM will reaffirm his pledge to end England’s national lockdown, many Tory MPs are furious at the government’s plans to make the restrictions tougher and place more areas in Tiers 2 and 3.

The Covid Recovery Group of Conservative MPs, led by ex-ministers Mark Harper and Steve Baker, has written to the prime minister threatening to vote against the three-tier system when it is voted on in the Commons.

“We cannot live under such a series of damaging lockdowns and apparently arbitrary restrictions and expect our constituents to be grateful for being let out to enjoy the festive season only to have strict restrictions imposed on them afterwards that cause them health problems and destroy their livelihood,” they wrote.

When the Commons voted on the current lockdown earlier this month, 32 Conservative MPs and two tellers rebelled to oppose the measures and 17 more, including former prime minister Theresa May, abstained.