The country will face another national lockdown if MPs reject new local limits, Boris Johnson warned tonight.
The Prime Minister was battling to quell a Tory revolt as he unveiled a series of concessions in a bid to persuade backbenchers to back a tougher tiers system.
But ahead of a critical Commons vote Tuesday, the rebels tonight demanded ‘hard evidence’ to convince them that the crackdown will save more lives than it costs.
Tomorrow Downing Street will publish an analysis of the health, economic and social impacts of coronavirus and the measures taken to suppress it. The move is an attempt to limit the scale of a rebellion which has been growing since last week.
The Prime Minister was battling to quell a Tory revolt as he unveiled a series of concessions in a bid to persuade backbenchers to back a tougher tiers system
Downing Street will publish an analysis of the health, economic and social impacts of coronavirus and the measures taken to suppress it
The document will include forecasts from the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility. Mr Johnson yesterday dangled the prospect that some areas facing the harshest curbs in Tier Three could see them eased as part of a review before Christmas.
He also announced the new rules would be scrapped altogether in February unless MPs vote in the New Year to keep them in place until Easter. But in a letter to MPs, the he conceded: ‘These will not be easy decisions. With Christmas round the corner, and the difficult months of January and February ahead, we will need to continue to exercise caution.’
Mr Johnson insisted ‘no prime minister wants to impose restrictions which cause such harm to society, the economy and people’s mental health’.
But he warned that the ‘tougher tiers’ are needed ‘if we are to keep the virus under control and avoid either overwhelming the NHS or another national lockdown which is far more damaging and restrictive than these tiers’.
The government is also planning extra cash or bars and restaurants hit by upper-tier closures.
A government source told The Daily Telegraph: ‘There are already grants of £2,000 and £3,000 for businesses in Tiers 2 and 3 but we recognise we need to do more.’
Tonight Mr Johnson also sent a separate letter to around 70 Tory MPs in the Covid Recovery Group, which has led opposition to the tiers system. He insisted he was listening to their concerns as he pleaded for unity.
The PM wrote: ‘I do believe the strategy is a balanced approach, which helps protect the NHS from being overwhelmed, keeps children attending school, and lets the economy open up in a safe way, and the best way forward.
‘There is every reason to believe that the worst is nearly behind us, so now more than ever is the time to demonstrate unity and resolve. The prospects offered by vaccines and testing mean we can begin the process of recovery in earnest.’
Mr Johnson also promised the CRG it would receive a briefing on the evidence on how Covid is being spread in hospitality venues.
It came as:
- A major study showed coronavirus infections plummeted by a third in the second lockdown.
- A further 215 people who tested positive for Covid died in hospital in England in the last 24 hours with another 12,155 lab-confirmed cases in the UK.
- Professor Peter Openshaw, of Imperial College, a member of an official virus advisory group, said a Covid vaccine could be available ‘as early as next week’.
- Under new guidelines, Santa’s grottos can open but with Father Christmas in a mask and children banned from sitting on his knee.
MPs will vote tomorrow on the new system of tiers that will come into effect when the national lockdown is lifted on Wednesday.
Only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly will be under the lightest Tier One controls. Large swathes of the Midlands, North East and North West are in the most restrictive Tier Three.
In total, 99 per cent of England will enter Tier Two or Three, with tight restrictions on bars and restaurants plus a ban on households mixing indoors. Tory former minister Mark Harper, leader of the CRG, said he still needed to be convinced about the measures.
He said: ‘MPs can’t be expected to support these severe restrictions without a cost-benefit analysis and data showing they’ll do more good than harm.’
Dr Ben Spencer, Tory MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, said: ‘I agree MPs must take responsibility for difficult decisions.
‘That’s why MPs need the harm/benefit analysis and the predicted impact of these restrictions on NHS capacity for their local areas.’ Greg Clark, chairman of the Commons business committee, said he was not persuaded by the promise of a ‘sunset clause’ that will give MPs a vote in February on keeping the tiers system.
Mr Clark is Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells, which will be in Tier Three with the rest of Kent but has a lower rate of infections.
He told LBC’s Swarbrick on Sunday programme: ‘February is a long time away for my constituents who feel this is not just an injustice but is hitting the livelihoods of people in pubs and restaurants.’
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday warned that England could face a third wave of Covid infections if ministers fail to ‘get the balance right’ with the curbs.
He insisted places will still be put into the tiers on a county-wide basis, not at a more local level.
Mr Raab also suggested some areas could move before Christmas but it was ‘more likely’ to be from Tier Three to Two.