Business groups warn London lockdown would ‘crumble’ capital as mayor calls for support
A London lockdown would “crumble” businesses and turn the capital into a “ghost town”, leading business bodies have told City A.M, as fresh restrictions are likely to be imposed on the city in the next few days.
New restrictions are set to be rolled out across the capital “in very short order,” according to a City Hall source with knowledge of the situation.
The virus is currently spreading in every part of the city, with a significant number of boroughs already hurtling past the infection threshold used to impose restrictions on other parts of the country.
But economists and business groups said have warned that fresh restrictions would be highly costly for the capital.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) said a London lockdown or two-week “circuit breaker” would cripple the economy, which is only just beginning to recover from months of closures.
Read more: London coronavirus cases: How many infections are in your London borough?
Cebr chief executive Nina Skero told City A.M: “The real cost of the circuit breaker would come in terms of crumbling business and consumer confidence, with a corresponding impact on investment and expenditure.”
“The City still feels like a ghost town compared to its pre-pandemic days and the businesses that rely on the daily influx of workers, [including] cafes, dry cleaners [and] hairdressers, face some difficult months ahead,” she added.
The latest data from the Cebr found that the pandemic created a £2.3bn spending hole in London between March and July, as shops remained shuttered under lockdown.
Canada Corporation chief executive Catherine McGuinness told Morning Wire it was “absolutely critical that London moves as one in tackling this wretched virus… [and to] keep the economy running as much as saving lives”.
“In terms of London’s long-term competitiveness and position we’re very confident because of the strengths that London has, but we are very worried about the supporting ecosystem, particularly in the City — the cafes [and] the bars that need that footfall there”.
Circuit breaker
The Prime Minister is facing mounting pressure to introduce a two-week “circuit-breaker” lockdown to curb an exponential hike in infections across the country.
Labour leader Keir Starmer yesterday said refusing to impose one would cause the UK to “sleepwalk into a bleak winter”.
Read more: More than half of London businesses ‘are not prepared’ for local lockdown
A snap Yougov poll released today found that the public “overwhelmingly” backs a two-week circuit breaker, with 68 per cent voicing their support for a lockdown during the October half-term.
The capital was placed on the lowest alert level under the Prime Minister’s new three-tier system that came into effect today.
However, Khan yesterday said it is “highly likely” that Londoners will face further measures in the next few days to stem the spread of the virus ”because cases are rising so quickly across the city”.
Khan today urged the government to provide support for businesses and vulnerable people in the capital ahead of any new lockdown measures.
The mayor suggested more generous support than the government’s offer to cover 67 per cent of the pay of workers in businesses that are forced to close.
“At present the scheme does not prevent the incomes of the lowest-paid workers falling below the minimum wage, but many Londoners in this position are blocked from accessing additional support through the benefit system,” he said.
He also said the government should immediately confirm an extension to the business rates holiday for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, which is due to end in March 2021.