Business leaders and MPs have piled pressure on Boris Johnson to scrap as soon as possible the work from home advice that has crippled the “hollowed out” central London economy.
They warned that once-thriving districts such as the West End and City were at risk of catastrophic long-term damage as a result of two years of Covid lockdowns, trading restrictions and guidance not to commute to the office.
Many say the current Plan B measures are the most destructive of all as they are not backed up by the financial support that eased the pain of the full lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 such as the furlough and loan schemes. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, said: “I would get rid of it (WFH) now. People have got to be encouraged back into the office.
“The infrastructure in London is desperately in need of people going back to the office — shops, small food outlets, restaurants, entertainment — all these things that make London vibrant are all flat at the moment.”
Sir Bob Neill, Tory MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, said WFH guidance should go by January 26 “at the latest and earlier if hospitalisations continue to decline”. He told the Standard: “The hospitality and retail sectors in central London are being crippled and, thanks to the success of the vaccine campaign, albeit that we have more to do there, we must be planning to move steadily back to normality as soon as possible.”
Des Gunewardena, chief executive of the D&D London restaurant group, said: “This city is going to die unless you get people back into offices. Of course Boris Johnson should be saying ‘go back to work’ straight away.”
Ros Morgan, chief executive of the Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “Work from home guidance has hollowed out the centre of London and meant that our businesses and cultural venues had a really difficult December — an option for office workers to come back would bring a much-needed boost to our capital. Central London stands ready to welcome people back — so let’s remove the barriers as soon as we can and help bring London back to life.”
Cabinet ministers are signalling that Plan B could be eased at a January 26 review point, with the work from home guidance possibly being ditched but mandatory face masks on public transport and in shops remaining.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Breakfast: “I’m confident that when we review this on the 26th of January... then we’ll be in a much better place to lift some of these restrictions.”
However, senior Tory MPs are pressing for WFH to go by then — at the latest — as the daily number of Covid cases announced for London fell on Sunday to below 10,000 for the first time since December 12, although some of the decline may be due to changes in testing. Hospital admissions of patients with Covid also dropped to 276 on Friday, the lowest number since December 19.
Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers also wants the working from home guidance lifted now. She said: “Thousands of jobs and businesses depend on people being back at their desks. So let’s lift the work from home guidance and boost our great city’s economy.”
The work from home advice came into force on December 13 as part of the plan B package of measures aimed at slowing the spread of the Omicron variant. Latest figures from the Rail Delivery Group, the body that represents the industry, show that commuter numbers slumped to just 25 per cent of their normal level in the first week of January.
The City of London Corporation today launched a £10 million grant scheme to support businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure and medical sector that have been hit by Plan B.
Footfall figures from the Heart of London Business Alliance show the number of people in the West End down between 47 and 64 per cent on pre-pandemic levels during the second week of January although there were some signs of recovery since.
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The producers of the West End play Pride Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) last week said it would close more than two months earlier than planned despite rave reviews and good business when it opened last autumn.
