China News Service, Beijing, August 2 (Reporter Ma Jiajia) The British epidemic has recently rebounded. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urgently halted the unblocking plan originally scheduled to be implemented this weekend (August 1-2). The media It is said that the lives of millions of British people will be affected by this. Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the UK, many social activities including local elections have been postponed or cancelled.
On August 1, local time, London, England, the "London Eye" Ferris wheel reopened. The picture shows tourists walking down from the Ferris wheel.
Boris Johnson regretfully announced on July 31 that the four unblocking plans that will be implemented this weekend have to be postponed for at least two weeks; other regulations also involve the expansion of occasions for wearing masks and the requirements for enterprises to resume work. .
Affected by this policy, all events scheduled for spectator admission test runs in England from August 1 to 2 will be changed to closed-door games. The policy of banning spectators from entering the venue will continue until at least August 15. On July 17, Johnson just stated that they plan to bring spectators back to the stadium in October. According to the previous “unblocking” plan, two men’s cricket matches will be held this weekend, a horse racing event on August 1 and July 31 The Snooker World Championships, which has been unveiled on Japan, will welcome a small number of spectators, aiming to prepare for the full return of spectators in October.
In addition to the fact that sporting events are temporarily unable to return to normalcy due to the impact of the epidemic, many political activities such as local elections in the UK have also been postponed during the epidemic.
Due to the severe epidemic, the British Parliament decided in March to postpone a number of election activities for one year until May 2021. After the election is postponed, the local councillors, mayor, police and crime commissioners will be extended to five years from their original terms of four years. As the election is postponed from 2020 to 2021, the term of office of officials elected in May 2021 will be only three years.
The British government said that the postponement of the election is the government's efforts to reduce social interaction and slow the spread of the new crown virus. The Election Committee stated that there is no confidence that voters can safely participate in voting activities, and the recruitment of ballot station staff has also encountered difficulties, some people have refused to participate in the vote station work, in order to avoid contracting the new crown virus.
On August 1, local time, London, England, the "London Eye" Ferris wheel reopened. The picture shows the staff taking temperature measurements for tourists.
The election postponement measures have also been affirmed by all sectors of society. The acting leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Sir Ed David, said that the postponement of the vote was "the right decision." When talking about postponing elections, British Attorney General Robert Buckland pointed out, “In this case, re-examining the annual cycle of local governments, in my opinion, postponing them is the right thing to do.”
The decision to postpone the election was also supported by the British Association of Electoral Administrators. The association’s chief executive, Peter Stanyon, said: “This is uncharted territory and our members have always raised major concerns about the safe holding of these elections.”
Alistair Clark, a political science PhD from Newcastle University, wrote an article in the British media to analyze the difficulties faced by the election during the "epidemic", saying: "(Election) delay for one year may be the right choice."
The British media said that the new social restrictions against the new crown pneumonia will affect the lives of millions of British people. Regarding the rationality of the prevention and control measures, British Prime Minister Johnson explained that "the virus will not be allowed to spread further and cause damage to the UK. Greater disaster." (End)