Boris press conference at 18:00
The PM held a press conference at 18:00 and shifted the country to Plan B in order to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. We asked small business owners around the UK for their views.
14 responses from the Newspage community
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"The nightmares are returning. I am starting to get cancellations already. This will likely be the final nail in the coffin for many small businesses."
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"To say that my heart has sunk is an understatement. As an events specialist, my business was only just struggling to get back on its feet. I fear these new guidelines will only enhance the uncertainty of my clients to hold events. I really don't know how much longer my business can survive. I have spent the past 20 months adhering to the Government' guidelines, while those in power clearly did not. Whilst they were partying, I was unable to visit my parents at Christmas. It was heartbreaking to not be able to see the very people who were forced to financially support my business, as the Government gave me next to no support as a limited company director."
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"Kier Starmer might be Captain Hindsight, but Boris Johnson is Commander Cover-up, and after the shambles of today, we're done listening to him. When you're once again asking businesses up and down the country to re-evaluate their strategies and upheave their staff, you've got to be holding all the cards. Boris has no cards left to hold. He's done."
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"As ever, too little too late from this buffoon, and so many inconsistencies in this Plan B. What about mask wearing in restaurants to protect hospitality staff? So we should work from home but are still able to party, party, party? What a joke. It’s already hard for employers to keep their employees engaged just before Christmas, and this is going to make things even harder."
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"Let's hope we're the entertainment that Boris books to perform at the No.10 Christmas party this year, because all of the other events in our diary are dropping like flies."
"Zero deaths in South Africa, from well over 40,000 cases, and zero here too. This strain is apparently a lot milder than the Delta variant, so why are we on the verge of losing the plot again? Would we do this for a serious outbreak of the flu or common cold. Why did I bother with three jabs Boris? How much more have we got to put up with as business owners, with the financial fallout here."
"It's all gone Pete Tong, with Captain U-turn back to his old tricks. What's clear is that the Tories will be having a massive party this year as there will be a vast selection of headline acts as bookings will be dropping like flies in the events industry."
"I'll be following the same rules Bojo and the rest of the clowns in Number 10 followed last Christmas. All the authority of this Government has vanished. You can't be arrested for anything either, as the Met seem complicit with last Christmas's antics and have lost all moral authority too. We need to drain the swamp of all these bottom feeders and install people that can genuinely lead us and not this bunch of corrupt, unscrupulous bastards."
"Unfortunately, I feel this update will largely be ignored due to the events of last year at No 10. If we were really taking this seriously, we should be introducing plan B immediately not in a week's time, especially with the speed of the Omicron doubling time. Let's face it, this time next week we will no doubt be having a press conference about Plan C or D."
"We've been preparing our clients and the wider community for this eventuality for some time now, as many businesses have previously reverted back to traditional office working and not introduced policies such as hybrid working. However, those that have positively embraced hybrid and remote-working are at risk of seeing employees struggle with wellbeing through difficult times like this, with our own research finding that the majority of people have felt pressure to keep on working whilst sick at home."
"Unfortunately, because people have got used to not being made to wear masks, it will mean people will just not go to places. I have found customers have been canceling appointments because they refuse to be made to wear them. With businesses being asked to work from home, more companies will be cancelling Christmas parties and that means the knock-on effect to the "forgotten" beauty industry will be devastating with the late cancellations and no shows. The industry will be facing another extremely tough Christmas. But yet only the hospitality industry will be reported about."
"Allegra Stratton has done the right and honourable thing by resigning. Unfortunately Boris has no such sense of shame. The party was in number 10, yet he seriously expects us to believe he knew nothing about it. It beggars belief. I think Plan B and Omicron will finish many businesses off unfortunately, particularly in the hospitality trade. And house prices may well fall, in the short term at least. Particularly if interest rates rise later this month."
"The majority of my income is based on live and in-person events so the move to Plan B has been a real blow, especially as there was no indication as to how long these new restrictions will be in place for. Now 2022 has a huge shadow of uncertainty over it.
Let's hope Boris can give us a little further clarity on timelines so that venues and all associated with them can plan future live and in-person events.
Our only saving grace is this time around, we can continue with the virtual side of our business, sadly some businesses may not have that as an option.
Back on the hamster wheel we go!
"We have only just got back on the straight and narrow operationally after a series of poorly timed lockdowns that did too little too late to control Covid and so dragged on for longer than they should have. We are being asked to wait week by week for developments, with a week’s notice to figure out how to respond to whatever comes around the next corner. Except for this announcement of course where we have tomorrow and Friday to work out how to rearrange our business operations."