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Boris Johnson has called for unity when rebellious Conservative MPs warned that he had to provide “solid” evidence for the introduction of controversial new levels of lockdown or face a secondary revolt.
As his foreign secretary raised the specter of a possible third wave of cases next year, the prime minister said the government’s plans would protect the NHS from being “overwhelmed” and allow the economy to reopen safely.
But in a letter to potential rebels, he added that with a vaccine in sight “now more than ever is the time to show unity and determination.”
In a dramatic drop over the weekend, Johnson also offered to end the new system early, after just nine weeks, and give MPs a separate vote on whether or not the restrictions should continue until March.
But Conservative MPs cautioned that their concerns about the economic impact of the strict new standards remained.
In a message to Downing Street, Mark Harper, president of the Tory MPs Covid Recovery Group (CRG), said: “Show us that the measures that are being proposed are going to be effective and show us the cost.”
“We need strong evidence, not hyperbole,” he added.
Under the plan, which MPs will vote on Tuesday, 99 per cent of England will be allowed to socialize inside pubs and restaurants with only their own home or not at all.
Last week, 70 members of the group wrote to the prime minister asking him to publish a cost-benefit analysis of the levels.
Downing Street has said that the information will be available before Tuesday’s vote.
Mr. Harper also told Times Radio that in some parts of England a county-by-county approach was “sensible, but I can see in some parts of the country where there is much greater variation … that might not be really sensible” .
Pauline Latham, the Conservative MP from Mid-Derbyshire, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge Sunday: “I think it will depend a lot on what Boris does between now and Tuesday.
“If you present that evidence and you can prove to us that you have good evidence to go on, then I think you will not rebel.”
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had raised the specter of a return to the national blockade while defending the new levels.
He said the restrictions were part of a determined effort to break out of a national blockade “and stay out.”
He also warned of the “risk” of a third wave of cases in the New Year if ministers failed to control the virus, and downplayed the idea that ministers would abandon the current county-by-county approach.
In his letter to members of the CRG group, Mr. Johnson wrote: “As we all know very well, these are very difficult times for our country and the entire world. No government or parliament has had to deal with problems of this difficulty and magnitude since the end of World War II.
“Disagreement on the approach is natural and I hope you will recognize that the government is seeking as much as possible to hear criticism and respond positively to constructive proposals.
“I think the established strategy is a balanced approach, which helps protect the NHS from being overwhelmed, keeps children attending school and allows the economy to open up in a safe way and the best way forward.
“There are many reasons to hope and believe that the worst is almost over, so now more than ever is the time to demonstrate unity and determination. As we transition from winter to spring, the prospects offered by vaccines and testing mean we can begin the recovery process in earnest and focus our energies once again on improving the lives of the people we were chosen to serve. ”.
In an article of the Sunday mail Johnson urged his MPs to back the measures, telling them it was “crucial to understand that with the help of these scientific advances we hope to make progress, and reduce escalation, BEFORE Easter.”
He added that the new restrictions in force since Wednesday would not be a blockade.
“We are almost out of our captivity. We can see the sunlit highland pastures ahead. But if we try to jump the fence now, we will simply get tangled up in the last barbed wire, with disastrous consequences for the NHS. ”
Conservative MP and former children’s minister Tim Loughton said that unless MPs receive the cost-benefit analysis they have requested between now and Tuesday, the prime minister’s letter offering a new sunset clause “doesn’t change anything. , I’m afraid”.
Several other Conservative MPs have said they will decide how to vote once they see the government’s impact assessment.
Labor has yet to commit to voting for the measures.
However, the party has yet to vote against public health measures since the pandemic began.
