Katy Balls

Is Boris Johnson heading for his first Commons defeat since the election? Plans are afoot in government to bring in legislation to suspend Sunday trading laws as part of a wider effort to get the economy going again. The Prime Minister and Chancellor first thought up the idea of relaxing Sunday trading as a way to make it easier for key workers to shop amid queues and rushes but research then suggested that such measures could have a significant economic impact as well. However, early signs suggest that if the government presses ahead, MPs could move to block it. The Telegraph reports that 50 Conservative MPs have signed a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to abandon the plans.

As the coronavirus threat level moves from four to three, Boris Johnson has declared today that he is 'sure' all children will be able to be back in school full-time from September. Speaking at the daily press conference, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson repeated this pledge. But should Johnson hit his target, will parents comply? So far of the year groups allowed to return to school, there have been mixed results when it comes to the level of uptake. New polling for Coffee House, carried out on Thursday by Redfield & Wilton Strategies of a sample of 2,000, points at the problems ahead in convincing parents to send their children back.

Any remaining doubts where most of the Conservative party sits on the government's two-metre rule was put to bed with today's Commons debate on the issue. Tory MPs lined up this afternoon to criticise the social distancing policy, and in many cases call for it to go immediately. Although the government has attempted to calm the party by putting the two-metre rule under review, MPs are increasingly impatient over its existence and view it as the number one problem policy. Speaking in today's debate, several Conservative MPs didn't just call for it to go once the review was completed but for it to face the axe today. Former minister Tobias Ellwood said 'one metre is the right decision, now is the right time – not in two weeks'.

In coronavirus, the Prime Minister faces both a public health crisis and an economic crisis. Up until now, Tory MPs feel as though Boris Johnson has prioritised the former. But with new figures from the ONS showing the UK economy shrank by a record 20.4 per cent in April and the furlough scheme being reduced in August, there's a sense that the economic damage will soon have to take priority. While repeated polling suggests the public has been receptive to lockdown measures and worry about it ending too quickly, the Conservative parliamentary party has, in large part, been agitating for a quicker easing than offered. Tory MPs have made their displeasure known at the two-week quarantine policy, the delay to the reopening of schools and most recently the two-metre rule.

Today marks the start of the government's coronavirus quarantine policy with those arriving into the UK told to self-isolate for two weeks. To say the policy is unpopular with Tory MPs would be an understatement. It's also been queried by scientists, many of whom point out that it would only really have an impact in terms of people arriving from high infection countries. Given that the UK is currently at a higher infection level than many of its neighbours, that effect is questionable. The aviation industry also despises it, with a number of airline companies mooting legal action. While polling suggests the policy does for now have the backing of members of the public, these factors mean that had the policy been put to a vote it would have struggled to have passed.