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Boris Johnson has said there is a “compelling case” for new coronavirus restrictions, as he promised non-food pubs a one-time payment of £ 1,000 in December.
Pubs that only sell drinks, or “wet pubs”, will not be able to open if they are in Level 2 or Level 3 areas under the new restriction system starting tomorrow.
The prime minister made the announcement after saying that the hospitality sector has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Johnson has spoken in the House of Commons ahead of a showdown with rebellious Conservative MPs over his post-shutdown plan.
Around 50 of Johnson’s own MPs are expected to oppose the government in a vote to pass the tiered system. coronavirus restrictions, where 99% of the population faces the strictest Tier 2 and Tier 3 measure.
Pubs can only open on Level 2 if they can act like a restaurant, while those on Level 3 will only be able to serve takeout.
Johnson told MPs Tuesday: “We will do everything in our power to support our hospitality industry during this crisis.
“We have already extended the licensing plan for all companies until the end of March … we have allocated £ 1.1 billion to local authorities to support companies with particular risk, and today we are going further with a one-time payment of £ 1,000. , in December, to humid pubs, that is, pubs that do not serve food “.
The prime minister is victory assured in the Commons vote tonight after Sir Keir Starmer said Labor will abstain.
Sir Keir said that while his party has “serious misgivings” about the restrictions, it would not be in the national interest to reject them when the virus still poses a “serious risk”.
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PM ignores level expiration clause date
The Labor move is likely to highlight the size of the Tory rebellion, with many backbenchers furious that their constituencies face tighter controls than before the last shutdown.
Only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall, and Isles of Scilly have been designated for the lightest Tier 1 restrictions.
Johnson told MPs: “With the spread of the epidemic varying across the country, it remains a compelling case for the regional levels in England and indeed a compelling need for the regional levels.”
England’s second lockdown is coming to an end after a series of breakthroughs in the race for a vaccine.
Two American treatments have been found to be more than 90% effective.
The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine has been found to be up to 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 when half a dose is administered first.
However, no treatment has been approved.
The prime minister told the Commons: “All we have to do now is hold our nerve until these vaccines are really within our grasp and they are injected into our arms.”
“So I say to the House again, let’s follow the lead, implement massive testing. Let’s work to deliver massive testing to the people of our country.
“Let’s work together to control the virus, and it is in that spirit that I recommend these regulations.”
Keir Starmer has accused the prime minister of failing to “catch up with the public
Sir Keir told MPs that the government’s plan to control the virus so far has not worked.
He said: “We’ve been here before. On June 10, the prime minister told us, for the first time, his strategy of hitting a mole to control local infections: June 10.
“He told us that it would be so effective that the restrictions would only be for a few weeks or even a few days. That was far from the truth.
“Leicester, for example, just entered the 154th day of restrictions. And by the time these regulations run out on February 2, Leicester will have been in restrictions for 217 days. So that didn’t work out, the June 10 proposal. “
Sir Keir added that both the government’s rule of six and the initial three-tier system did not “work” either.
He said the prime minister has not “caught up with the British public”, adding: “He has been fueling the promise that within two weeks or so local areas have a real prospect of falling to a level below which is it so .
“We need to level, in my opinion that is highly unlikely and we could also deal with it now. Obviously the new Level 1 may slow down but it will not prevent an increase in infections, it is not certain that the new Level 2 can contain the infection rate .
“I hear the murmurs, but let’s see where we are in two weeks; I look at the members of the House who think that maybe in two weeks their area will be down a notch just before Christmas. Let’s see.”
A Conservative MP muttered that Sir Keir was showing “hindsight”, to which the Labor leader replied: “This is not hindsight. I am telling you what is going to happen in two weeks.”
“We know where we will be in two weeks, and I have no doubt that there will be (Tory MPs) standing up and saying ‘I thought my area was going to drop a notch just before Christmas.’ That’s not leveling, that’s not being straight, because that’s not going to happen. “
He added, “I hope I’m here and I’m wrong about this, and I think all the members hope I’m wrong.”
