Top story: ‘This is not over yet’
Good morning and welcome to this Tuesday briefing with me, Alison Rourke.
Ten million people across London and parts of the south-east will enter tier 3 restrictions from Wednesday as the government steps up its bid to contain the coronavirus. Coming just two weeks after the national lockdown, and as the vaccine is rolled out, the health secretary Matt Hancock said it was a “salutary warning for the whole country”. He urged people to minimise all social contact, saying: “This isn’t over yet.” When the new restrictions come into force in London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, 34 million people will be subject to the strictest rules. Downing Street has insisted the five-day relaxation over Christmas will not be reviewed, but more than 1,000 cases of the new Covid strain across 60 areas has prompted concerns over the potential cost of Christmas gatherings. You can read our Q&A on how the new strain may have spread in the south of the country and whether we should be worried about it. Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said there was no evidence the new strain was more dangerous and it would be picked up by tests. As infections rise in the capital, the government has launched legal action against Greenwich council’s planned school closures, using emergency coronavirus legislation for the first time to ensure face-to-face teaching continues until the end of term. Meanwhile, a leading public health authority, Sir Michael Marmot, known for his landmark work on the social determinants of health, says pre-existing social inequalities contributed to the UK’s death rate. The UN has warned that unless leaders make the right choices on recovering from the pandemic to avoid entrenching environmental problems and social inequalities, the world faces a future of lurching from crisis to crisis. And the Guardian’s Linda Geddes asks if Boris Johnson’s personal experience with Covid changed him.
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Biden, Barr and Covid toll – The US passed some major milestones overnight, with the electoral college officially affirming Joe Biden’s win, William Barr, Trump’s attorney general, stepping down, and coronavirus deaths passing 300,000 on the same day vaccinations began. Speaking shortly after the college finished voting, Biden delivered a sharp repudiation of Trump, saying the “will of the people had prevailed” in a “battle for the soul of America”. Barr, one of Trump’s staunchest allies, resigned just weeks after he contradicted the president by saying the justice department had uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election. Trump announced Barr’s departure by tweet moments after Biden passed the 270 electoral college votes threshold to win the White House.
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Social media – Tech companies will need to remove and limit the spread of harmful content or face fines of up to £18m after the government revealed the details of its proposed internet regulation. The online harms bill sets out strict guidelines governing removal of illegal content such as child sexual abuse, terrorist material and media that promotes suicide, which sites must obey or face being blocked in the UK. It also requires platforms to abide by a code of conduct that sets out their responsibilities towards children and face fines if they fail to stick to their terms and conditions.
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‘Long-lasting harm’ – Gender stereotyping has helped fuel the UK mental health crisis afflicting young people, an influential report has warned, adding that it is at the root of problems with body image and eating disorders, record male suicide rates and violence against women and girls. A commission set up by the leading gender equality campaigning charity, the Fawcett Society, found stereotyped assumptions “significantly limit” youngsters’ career choices, in turn contributing to the gender pay gap. “Gender stereotyping is everywhere and causes serious, long-lasting harm,” said Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society. From “boys will be boys” attitudes in nursery or school, to jobs for boys and jobs for girls views among some parents, these stereotypes are deeply embedded and last a lifetime, the report found.
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Iceberg mission – Scientists are preparing for an urgent mission to the world’s biggest iceberg, which is on a collision course with the island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The A-68A iceberg, which is larger than Luxembourg, broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in 2017 and has been drifting towards the island since. It threatens to wreck the rich ecosystem around South Georgia by tearing up the sea floor, which is home to molluscs, crustaceans, sponges and other life, and by chilling the water and releasing meltwater into the sea.
Today in Focus podcast: Where is Brexit heading?
With talks ongoing between the EU and UK over the final Brexit trade deal, the clock is running down and the January deadline is looming. Daniel Boffey explains what is at stake.
Lunchtime read: The Archers: ‘a peculiarly English epic’
Strangely eventless, yet swelling with high drama, The Archers is the longest-running series in the world. But does this rural soap reflect the reality of country life, or is it a fantasy liberal never-never land for urban audiences? Charlotte Higgins explores the weird genius of this “peculiarly English epic”.
Sport
Liverpool legends including Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, Phil Thompson and Jamie Carragher have spoken of their devastation after the death of the club’s former manager, Gérard Houllier, at the age of 73. Frank Lampard has claimed that football should be exempt from the coronavirus tier system and has called on Premier League clubs to work together to convince the government to allow fans in regions under the toughest restrictions to still attend matches. Eddie Jones has warned of the dangers of his young England players getting too far ahead of themselves too quickly after his side were handed a favourable 2023 World Cup pool draw alongside Japan and Argentina. South Korea’s A Lim Kim made her first US Women’s Open appearance a memorable one, closing with three straight birdies to claim the $1m first prize. The Arsenal technical director, Edu, has rejected any suggestion Mikel Arteta’s job is under threat and believes the club will have a “beautiful future” under its embattled manager. Lewis Hamilton has said this Formula One season was the hardest of his career. And Cleveland’s baseball team will drop “Indians” from their name in a move US president Donald Trump dismissed as “cancel culture at work”.
Business
More than half of furloughed jobs in the UK are at the highest risk of automation as the Covid crisis accelerates workplace technology change, driving up redundancies and inequality across the country, a report by a two-year commission on workers and technology has found. Workers in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic – such as hospitality, leisure and retail – face a “double whammy” as their jobs are at the most risk of being replaced by machines. The commission’s report, organised by the Fabian Society and the Community trade union, shows that as many as 61% of jobs furloughed in the first half of this year were in sectors where automation is most likely to lead to job losses.
The pound is buying €1.097 and $ 1.333.
The papers
Covid is the top story across all today’s front pages. The Guardian splashes with “Millions more face tier 3 as new strain of virus emerges”. The Times has “New strain feared to be driving up virus cases”, and the Telegraph leads with “London plunged into toughest tier as ministers warn of new virus strain”. The FT leads with a pic of the first Covid vaccinations in the US (“US vaccine rollout starts”) but saves its splash for “Spy agencies scramble to counter ‘nation-state’ cyber attack on US”. The Mirror has “New strain & more pain” and the Express has “Fears over new fast-spreading Covid strain”. The Mail asks if more lockdown measures could be coming with “Christmas in jeopardy?” The i also zeros in on Christmas with “PM urged to rethink Christmas bubbles”.
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