BORIS JOHNSON is looking to reboot his premiership today after ending nine days stuck in coronavirus self-isolation.
The Prime Minister is hoping to launch a series of initiatives in the coming weeks as he looks to outline his plans for Britain beyond the pandemic. Mr Johnson is unveiling his plan to tackle crime and will give details in a speech later today.
Ahead of the announcement, he said: “When I first stood on the steps of Downing Street as Prime Minister, I promised to back the police and make people safer, because we cannot level up the country when crime hits the poorest hardest and draws the most vulnerable into violence.
“That is why my Government has remained unstinting in its efforts to protect the British public and this plan delivers a fresh commitment, as we emerge from the impacts of the pandemic, to have less crime, fewer victims and a safer society.”
He is hoping to wrestle back control of the news agenda after 16 months of being suffocated by dealing with the pandemic.
The Prime Minister’s attempts to refocus his Government’s efforts comes amid tightening opinion polls and growing anger on his own backbenches.
Mr Johnson’s initial attempts to dodge isolation after being a close contact of the Health Secretary, who tested positive for Covid on July 17, infuriated the public.
The Prime Minister was forced into a quick U-turn, cancelling his and Rishi Sunak’s participation in a pilot scheme that would have allowed them to take daily tests rather than quarantine and instead self-isolating at his country retreat of Chequers.
But the damage appeared to already have been done with the Tories’ lead in a number of opinion polls collapsing.
A YouGov survey of over 1,000 UK adults conducted on July 20-21 saw the Conservatives on a 38 percent share of voting intension compared to labour’s 34 percent.
Only July 16 the Tories had a 13 point lead on 44 percent compared to the Opposition’s 31 percent.