Financial Times perspective: Boris Johnson implements new Covid “body blow” curbs for UK businesses

UK prime minister Boris Johnson's red listing of SA over Omicron revealed his penchant for knee-jerking. He was at it again yesterday when reimposing new curbs to slow down the spread of the new variant. British data on Omicron will be available next week. Johnson's critics say he should have waited. The story below from the FT unpacks consequences for the UK's economy. SA's battered hospitality sector will be hoping Cyril Ramaphosa learns from Johnson (above) and instead of following, continues with his mature approach of waiting for evidence before jumping to conclusions. – Alec Hogg.Use Spotify? Access BizNews podcasts here..Use Apple Podcasts? Access BizNews podcasts here..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.From the FT: Boris blinks – implements new Covid "body blow" curbs for UK businesses.Vaccine passports and return to homeworking could be 'devastating' for hospitality say leaders in the sector.By Daniel Thomas in London for the Financial Times.Business groups warned that the introduction of vaccine passports for larger venues and a new work-from-home order will be a "body blow" to bars, restaurants and nightclubs that had been relying on Christmas trading to recover lost revenues..UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced fresh restrictions in England on Wednesday to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant..Craig Beaumont, chief of external affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses, said the measures would be a "body blow" to a hospitality industry already struggling after successive lockdowns..Bar and restaurant owners describe the weeks in the run-up to Christmas as the "golden quarter" when the industry makes most of its profits from spending on parties and drinks in the festive period..Beaumont said the requirement for vaccine passports will subdue demand, while the instruction for office staff to work from home would mean fewer people in towns and cities to support local businesses. Masks will also be expected to be worn at many more indoor venues from Friday.."It's a double whammy. Christmas parties are already being cancelled, but this could turn the lights out for many struggling hospitality businesses.".Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, which represents the night-time sector, said that "nightclubs and bars have been thrown under the bus by the prime minister for him to save his own skin"..The new restrictions come after widespread anger over a Christmas party allegedly held at Number 10 last year, when the UK was under lockdown.."The pre-Christmas period is absolutely crucial for our sector . . . far from 'saving' Christmas, the prime minister has given our sector the horrible present of more pain for businesses desperately trying to recoup losses from earlier in the pandemic," Kill said.."You do have to question the timing and rationale for this announcement. Is this sound evidence-based public policymaking, or is this an attempt to move the news agenda on from a damaging story about the Downing Street Christmas party?".Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of pub group Greene King, said that bookings had "definitely fallen away" adding that he had seen "some loss of consumer confidence even though in reality no restrictions have been placed on pubs"..Some office employers have already begun to reverse instructions to their staff to come back to the workplace..Ross Mitchinson, co-chief executive at Numis, which has had 70 to 80 per cent of staff back to its London office, said the move would "change our plans, as we will follow the government guidelines . . . the good news is we have done it before and have proven to be able to operate effectively in a [work-from-home] scenario"..Kevin Ellis, senior partner at PwC, which employs about 22,000 people, said the consultancy group would follow government guidelines, "but there's no denying this will be a challenge for some sectors"..He added: "It's the busy season for audit and there's also lots of deal activity that benefits from some in-person meetings. We've successfully run our businesses through previous restrictions and our offices will remain open for our people that have a business or personal need to use them.".Ashmore, a UK-based fund manager, had already told staff this week that they could again work from home until early January, according to a person familiar with the situation. Ashmore declined to comment..Until last month, ministers had been urging people to return to their workplaces, in part to support local businesses in urban centres..One business leader described the rapid turn of policymaking and lack of a government warning as "deeply unhelpful" and "really disruptive" to industries that were still coming to terms with the last round of restrictions..The Treasury said the government was acting "early to help control the virus's spread — while avoiding unduly damaging economic and social restrictions.". It added: "Our £400bn Covid support package will continue to help businesses into spring next year and we will continue to respond proportionately to the changing path of the virus, as we have done since the start of the pandemic.".Additional reporting by Michael O'Dwyer and Alice Hancock

Financial Times perspective: Boris Johnson implements new Covid “body blow” curbs for UK businesses

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