A tougher three-tier system post-lockdown
PM EXPECTED TO UNVEIL WINTER PLAN TOMORROW
ENGLAND will enter a strengthened three-tiered system of local restrictions when the national lockdown ends on December 2, Downing Street has said.
Boris Johnson is expected to detail his plan for winter, which includes details on how families can see their loved ones at Christmas, to MPS tomorrow.
The “Covid winter plan” is expected to place more areas into the higher tiers to keep the virus under control to ensure further restrictions are not needed, No 10 said.
And while some local measures will be the same as those in the previous system, some tiers will be strengthened to safeguard the gains made during the national lockdown.
The Prime Minister will accept that the measures are difficult but will make clear they are not to last longer than is absolutely necessary and will take into account the need to support the economy.
The Cabinet is expected to discuss and sign off the plan today before Mr Johnson announces it to Parliament tomorrow, when the full details are expected.
The plan will set out how people will be able to spend their Christmas, but ministers have made clear that the festive season will be different to normal, with some restrictions expected to remain in place.
Ministers will set out what tier each area will be placed into on Thursday and MPS are expected to be given the vote to approve the new tiering system, as promised by Mr Johnson, in the days before it comes into force.
They are optimistic that restrictions can be gradually reduced in the run up to spring, providing vaccines are approved by regulators, allowing a plan for the roll-out to begin next month before a wider programme in the new year.
But the Prime Minister will be wary of a rebellion from backbench Tory MPS who are opposed to new restrictions. During a vote on the current four-week system earlier this month, 32 Conservatives rebelled to oppose the measures and 17 more, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, abstained.
Subsequently, a “Covid recovery group” led by former chief whip Mark Harper and ex-brexit minister Steve Baker has formed to resist new measures, with suggestions 50 Tories have enlisted.
But Downing Street will hope an easing at Christmas, potential vaccines on the horizon and new scientific evidence will lessen the scale of a rebellion, with the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) expected to publish papers tomorrow stating that the previous tiers were not strong enough.
The plans emerged as the Government announced a further 341 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of yesterday, bringing the UK total to 54,626.
Labour has so far been supportive of the need for restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19, and a fullscale Commons defeat on the plan is unlikely.
But shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds, in a speech ahead of the
Downing Street announcement, said the nation could not be allowed to return “to the shambles we had before this lockdown” in calling for “clarity” on economic support.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “Everyone’s efforts during the current national restrictions have helped bring the virus back under control, slowed its spread and eased pressures on the NHS.
“But the Prime Minister and his scientific advisers are clear the virus is still present – and without regional restrictions it could quickly run out of control again before vaccines and mass testing have had an effect.
“That would put in jeopardy the progress the country has made, and once again risk intolerable pressure on the NHS.”