MP’S fury as town put in Tier 3 with Leicester
ASHBY’S MP has vowed to lobby against the town and others areas in his constituency being lumped in with Leicester in the new coronavirus tiers.
Andrew Bridgen spoke out after the whole of Leicestershire was placed in Tier 3, the highest level of restrictions, when the country comes out of lockdown on Wednesday.
Parliament will vote on the measures tomorrow, with a number of Conservative MPS unhappy about the tougher tiers and Labour undecided on whether it will support them.
Mr Bridgen said he would be lobbying the Government to separate Leicester from other parts of the county as he believes people will start to lose hope of getting out of the higher restrictions.
His comment came after figures released on Friday revealed there were 387 new cases across Leicester and Leicestershire in the 24 hours to 5.30pm on Thursday, November 26.
The city recorded 182 of these cases, with North West Leicestershire reporting 29. In total, Leicester has recorded 17,042 cases since the start of the pandemic, while North West Leicestershire has had 2,216 cases.
Mr Bridgen said: “If Leicestershire continues to be combined with Leicester with regard to the Covid risk, our constituents and businesses will start to lose hope of ever being released from the Tier 3 restrictions.
“I and my county colleagues will be lobbying Government hard for partition of the city and county.”
Yesterday it emerged that Boris Johnson has told his MPS the new Covid tier system has a “sunset” expiry date of February 3, in a bid to prevent a Commons rebellion tomorrow.
Dominic Raab refused to rule out a third national lockdown if there was another wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the new year.
The Foreign Secretary told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show there was a “risk” of a third spike in case numbers “if we don’t get the balance right”.
He said: “But so far the R level [the rate at which the virus is spread] is coming down – that’s really important – and that’s why we’re starting with the tiered approach.”
But asked whether there would be another national lockdown if people fail to comply with the rules, Mr Raab said: “We’re doing everything we can to avoid that.”
Speaking on Sky, Mr Raab said coronavirus cases would rise exponentially if restrictions were not applied on a wider level, such as across counties.
He said: “Where you’ve got low levels in a particular area but it’s surrounded by areas others with higher levels…
“If you don’t apply on a wider level – which is why we’re using the countywide basis – the same restrictions, all that happens is the virus in those lower levels… goes up exponentially.”
Despite the Foreign Secretary’s comments, there has been disappointment in areas that have been placed in Tier 3, such as Derbyshire, when other areas, such as London and Liverpool, have been put in Tier 2.
Pauline Latham, Conservative MP for Mid Derbyshire, said she “might” support the Government in a vote on the tiered measures if “more evidence” is laid out. She told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “I’d like to see the data. I’d like to see the evidence, more evidence than we’ve been given.”
ENGLAND could face a third wave of coronavirus if ministers fail to “get the balance right” with restrictions, the Foreign Secretary has said, as he tried to persuade Tory rebels to back the tier system.
Dominic Raab refused to rule out a third national lockdown if there is another spike in cases in the new year, saying only that the Government was “doing everything we can to avoid that”.
But he sought to win over his Conservative colleagues who are critical of the threetier system ahead of a crunch Commons vote on the measures tomorrow when MPS could reject the plan.
Mr Raab insisted the restrictions – which will place swathes of England under stringent rules – are necessary to “bear down” on the pandemic and keep the country out of a national lockdown.
But he said tiers would be downgraded in areas where the virus is in retreat, telling Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “We are starting with a more restrictive approach than previously with the localised approach.
“But that allows us to ease up when we are confident the virus is going down and stabilised – there’s a review every two weeks.” Mr Raab said that, with testing, “those two things are the crucial bridge to that light at the end of the tunnel in the spring”.
And in an interview with BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, he said there was a “risk” of a third spike in case numbers “if we don’t get the balance right”.
Asked whether there would be another national lockdown if people fail to comply with the rules, Mr Raab said: “We’re doing everything we can to avoid that.”
His comments came after Boris Johnson wrote to Conservative MPS offering them another chance to vote on the restrictions early next year, saying the legislation will have a “sunset of February 3”. In a bid to head off a rebellion, the Prime Minister also said that at the first review of the measures on December 16 he would move areas down a tier where there is “robust evidence” that coronavirus is in sustained decline.
The vote after Christmas will determine whether the tier system stays in place until the end of March.
In a further olive branch to MPS, Mr Johnson committed to publish more data and outline what circumstances need to change for an area to move down a tier, as well as analysis of the health, economic and social impacts of the measures taken to suppress coronavirus.
Labour shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said her party’s support was “not unconditional” and that it was seeking “clarity” about the tier system.
Without Labour backing – and if Mr Johnson suffers a major rebellion – the Government could struggle to pass its motion on the tier system. But several MPS said they still had reservations about supporting the restrictions tomorrow.
A further 208 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, the Government said yesterday.