Jeremy Corbyn has used the last prime minister’s questions before he steps down as Labour leader to pressure Boris Johnson over the government’s response to coronavirus, and to argue the crisis shows the need for a society. After quizzing Johnson over issues including testing and protective equipment for frontline staff, and help for tenants and the self-employed, Corbyn used his final question to call for lessons to be learned from the pandemic. “This crisis shows us how deeply we depend on each other,” he told a special PMQs session split into two halves, so MPs would not be too closely crammed into the chamber. “We’ll only come through this as a society through a huge collective effort. At a time of crisis, no one is an island, no one is self-made. “The wellbeing of the wealthiest corporate chief executive officer depends on the outsourced worker cleaning their office. At times like this we have to recognise the value of each other, and the strength of a society that cares for each other, and care for all.”
The prime minister responded by saying: “There he and I completely agree. We will get this country through this crisis with these exceptional steps.” In a sometimes critical but generally even-tempered session, Johnson used his first answer to pay tribute to Corbyn, saying: “We may not agree about everything, but no one can doubt his sincerity and his desire to build a better society.” Corbyn thanked the PM, but stressed he was not about to retire from frontline politics: “He was talking as though this was a sort of obituary. Just to let him know – my voice will not be stilled, I’ll be around, I’ll be campaigning, I’ll be arguing, and I’ll be demanding justice for the people of this country and, indeed, the rest of the world.” Johnson said testing for coronavirus was “massively increasing” to 25,000 a day, and had been a priority since the crisis began. But Corbyn pressed him on access to tests for both NHS and care staff, and asked about care workers being unable to buy enough food for residents. He also raised the “appalling situation” of a lack of personal protective equipment for NHS and care workers.
The former health secretary Jeremy Hunt joined the calls for routine testing in the community, referencing programmes in South Korea and Germany, and also asked for weekly tests for NHS workers. Johnson said testing for NHS staff would be done as soon as possible. MPs shared stories from their constituencies about the impact of coronavirus and a lack of safety equipment. Peter Kyle, the Labour MP for Hove, told the PM about Oaklands nursing home, where a 94-year-old resident developed coronavirus symptoms. A test was only carried out 10 days later, by which point 14 of the 20 residents had symptoms and seven staff were off sick, self-isolating. They had all been working in other care homes as they were agency staff. “None of the protective equipment requested had arrived,” Kyle said.
Johnson said he realised protective equipment was a real concern, saying that in the last 24 hours, 7.5m sets of equipment had been distributed. In his questions, Corbyn also pressed on the rights of private renters, asking why a promised complete ban on evictions under the emergency coronavirus bill had instead just extended the notice required for possession, from two months to three. Johnson declined to give assurances that a complete ban would be enforced, but said renters were safe. Corbyn replied: “Unfortunately this isn’t what the reality is on the ground, as many of my colleagues will point out. We are getting constituents in touch with us who are being threatened with eviction now because they are in rent arrears, because they cannot work, because of the shutdown over coronavirus.”