Boris’s Christmas U-turn ain’t going to be good for his popularity
The holiday plans of millions are going to be messed up
The real political problem with this afternoon’s announcement is that it comes only a few weeks after he had announced a relaxation for five days over Christmas. At the time this was widely criticised and thought by many to be taking too much of a risk.
But on the basis of the previous announcement millions of people made their plans accordingly and were looking forward to being with loved ones. That’s not going to happen
It is the changing that is the problem and there could be a political price for Johnson who has seen a dramatic drop in his ratings over the past year.
The areas to be affected are:
- Greater London (all 32 boroughs and the City of London)
- Kent
- Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes)
- Berkshire
- Surrey (excluding Waverley)
- Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth
- Rother and Hastings
- Bedfordshire
- Hertfordshire
- Essex (excluding Colchester, Uttlesford and Tendring)
- Peterborough
I don’t know how many marginal seats there are above but my guess is quite a lot.