Party Lines
with Rosemary Barton, Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Will the government drop the hammer?
23 mins
March 26, 2020
Did you notice the Prime Minister sounding more stern this week? Elamin says it’s like the scene in a family minivan: if you don’t stop acting up back there, dad’s gonna turn this car around and no one’s gonna get any ice cream. In this case, the ice cream is civil liberties — the freedom to still leave your house, at a safe distance from others, during this COVID-19 pandemic. As government officials warn of possible “stringent measures” to clamp down on those not following public health directives, Elamin asks: is that what we need, for people to take this seriously? And Rosie takes a close look at Tuesday’s unprecedented reopening of the House of Commons, where about 30 MPs gathered to pass the government’s economic support package — a sitting that came with some unexpected challenges.