The Weekly Briefing
Today in Focus
● Several significant supermarkets have withdrawn sales of goat milk from the UK's biggest producer after an investigation revealed animals had been attacked at a supply farm, The Independent said.
● The Times is leading with the government's warning that all travel poses a risk as it keeps a strict eye on possible extensions to coronavirus restrictions.
● With Britons potentially avoiding a holiday abroad this summer, the Daily Mirror says "staycations" could boost the national economy by £3.7bn.
● The Guardian leads with Europe's concerns over a second wave of COVID-19 as fresh outbreaks increase the possibility of imposing new restrictions.
● The government's decision to warn against all but essential travel to the Spanish islands is a "huge blow" to the travel industry, the Daily Mail reports.
● According to the Daily Express, the getaway plans for millions of people now "lay in ruins" after the government said travel abroad would be at a holiday maker's own risk.
● On the front of the Financial Times, the US dollar has dropped to a two-year low and is now on track for its worst month in nearly a decade.
● Self-isolation requirements for people arriving in the UK from Spain and other high-risk coronavirus countries could eventually be shortened to 10 days if they test negative for the illness, The Daily Telegraph reports.
● Homes with people self-isolating after returning from abroad have been "left unchecked" after it was revealed that police have fined just one person for breaking restrictions, the Metro reports.
The Fashion Roundtable Focus
Curbing Obesity
Yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans to curb junk food advertising and promotional deals as part of a new government obesity strategy triggered by the pandemic. The PM will ban junk food adverts on TV before the 9PM watershed and consult on whether a complete ban online is also required. Shops will be prohibited from offering "buy one, get one free" deals on unhealthy foods and ordered to put healthier products in prominent locations near checkouts. Large pub and restaurant chains will be forced to put calorie counts on menus, and a consultation launched into whether alcoholic drinks should also carry calorie labels. And NHS services will be expanded to focus on weight loss, with doctors told to warn patients when they are overweight and prescribe exercise. It all follows Johnson's personal brush with death from COVID-19, which he has in part put down to his own heavy build. The BBC has the story. While making the nation fit is very important in the current climate, some have argued that it falls for not accounting for those on lower incomes.
New Quarantine Measures in Spain
Yesterday's obesity announcement, however, continues to be overshadowed by the ongoing fallout from the sudden reintroduction of quarantine rules for people arriving from Spain. Seven national papers splash the story this morning, and six yesterday morning, with most carrying angry first-hand accounts from British holidaymakers facing two weeks' house arrest when they return. Much of the anger stems from the lack of notice before Saturday's announcement, and the failure to stop thousands more flying out at the weekend — though ministers insist they acted as soon as they saw the latest data. Questions are also being raised about the refund rights of those with future holidays booked; and about what happens to those whose employers are less than understanding about their predicament. Labour is pushing for answers.
Christmas
New polling shared with Politico shows almost three-quarters of Britons do not believe Boris Johnson's suggestion that the country may have returned to normal by Christmas - bad news for the high street. A survey conducted by Kekst CNC found just 11 per cent of people think we'll be back to normal this winter, with 72 per cent disagreeing. The tracker survey also shows fears of a second wave of coronavirus are increasing, up from 72 per cent last month to 76 per cent in July. The study was conducted across six different countries and found Brits are more pessimistic about a second wave than the average elsewhere (64 per cent). Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the above, people's perceptions of the government's competence continue to fall. The survey found Boris Johnson's net favourability rating is minus 12 per cent, down from minus 7 per cent last month. More than two-thirds of voters (67 per cent) said the government "seems to be making up its coronavirus policy as it goes along."
In Parliament
The Commons is now in recess until Tuesday, 1 September. But the Lords is still sitting, with a debate scheduled today on the FCO/DfID merger and with a coronavirus update promised from Health Minister James Bethell. Another scathing Sunday night message to all peers from Lords Speaker Norman Fowler, this time concerning Boris Johnson’s plans to create dozens of new peers (including Ian Botham) in the weeks ahead. Fowler — a former Tory Cabinet minister — said years of work to reduce the size of the chamber will be put “back to square one” at a stroke. “As I write this, we have 792 members,” Fowler said. “Clearly any substantial intake of new members will drive us over 800 — perhaps to somewhere near the figures back in 2016, and further away from our aim of a 600-member house.”
Previously Discussed
➔ Labour Exploitation in Leicester: Parosha Chandran argues that “the exploitation of workers and Covid-19 spike in Leicester’s factories should be a ‘wake-up call’ for the rest of the country, says trafficking expert”, the Guardian reports. And the i reports that the “UK has seen a huge rise in sexual exploitation and modern slavery cases” in the last few years.
➔ Retail: While retail sales appear to be rebounding - surging 17.8% in the eurozone in May and approaching pre-lockdown levels in Britain in June - shoppers are increasingly staying local, leaving Europe's most renowned shopping districts from London's West End struggling, Reuters says. The loss of city centre business has already prompted big retailers to retrench - Marks & Spencer and John Lewis among others have announced store closures and massive lay-offs.
➔ Trade Deals:The UK government has abandoned hopes of reaching a trade deal with America ahead of the US presidential election in November, with British officials blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for slow progress. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and international trade secretary Liz Truss had hoped to conclude a fast-track agreement by late summer, which would be hailed as an early win from leaving the EU. For the past 40 years, the UK has not had any bilateral trade deals because all trade policies for EU member states are conducted through Brussels, says the FT.
NEW! Leicester Factory
● Boohoo has announced plans to set up its own “model factory” to ensure workers are treated fairly.
● Boohoo said it would employ 250 people at a new Leicester factory it hopes will start producing clothes for its PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal brands by September.
● It expects that the new factory will produce 50,000 garments a week.
● It buys 40% of its clothing in the UK, mostly in Leicester, with the rest coming from other countries such as Turkey, Morocco, China, Bangladesh and India.
● If the factory is not up and running by September, Boohoo will lease a temporary site in Leicester in the meantime.
● Fashion Roundtable will email Boohoo for further details.