Helen Dickinson the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that if Parliament succeed in voting for a second national lockdown, this will cause “untold damage” to high street shops.
On Saturday evening Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants England to into a second national lockdown, for at least one month.
However, this can only happen if Parliament votes for this to happen this week, and if the national lockdown is voted in then the retail sector will lose thousands of jobs.
Dickinson said, “Retail faces a nightmare before Christmas as the government proposes to close thousands of retail premises under this new national lockdown, denying customers access to many of their favourites shops and brands.
“It will cause untold damage to the high street in the run up to Christmas, cost countless jobs, and permanently set back the recovery of the wider economy, with only a minimal effect on the transmission of the virus.”
Many shops have worked tirelessly to make themselves Covid secure, and the recent SAGE paper had suggested closing retailers would have “minimal impact” on virus transmission, she added.
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