Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he supports a lockdown extension.
In an appearance on Good Morning Britain this morning, the Labour leader called on the government to release a national consensus on what the next steps out of lockdown would be.
He raised safety concerns about people returning to work, mirroring those raised by trade unions, and said he believed the public were concerned and may be fearful to return.
The 57-year-old said: "The point that trade unions have raised is safety at work.
"I think people will want to know, if I'm going back to work, is it a safe environment?"
Mr Starmer spoke of the need for PPE but presenter Susanna Reid raised doubts about the likelihood of obtaining PPE.
Susanna said: "But the people... dealing on the frontline... have not had the PPE they need. How on earth are we going to reassure workers that they're going to get it?"
Keir agreed with her doubts and said there had been a shortage of PPE.
He added: "This is not just a reassurance exercise for those going back to work, this is essential for the safety of the nation.
"If you don’t have the protective equipment and that means people get infected, we are going to be right back where we started.
"This is not a luxury item, nice to have. If we don’t have the right environment at work, first the risk is people won’t want to come back.
"... The last thing we want is a return to work that means the infection isn't under control."
Keir supports wearing face masks in public and wants a debate with the government on its exit strategy.
He said: "This is why we need the debate.
"... We need a plan in place and what we don't want is a rush on face masks."
Co-host Ben Shephard asked if he wore face masks himself, but the MP said he doesn't "go out and about much" so doesn't wear them in public.
Mr Starmer added: "I want a discussion with the Prime Minister.
"I've had a couple of discussions with him already... we need to see what is needed.... there's work on a vaccine which everyone is in support of, of course, but what's the plan for rolling that out?"
He said he wasn't seeking a rival set of rules with the government and agreed for the most part, they were on the same page.
But he stressed he wants a national consensus on what the next steps would be.
Unfortunately, the signal cut out which ended his appearance on the popular breakfast show.
*Good Morning Britain airs on ITV from 6am
