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Boris Johnson is due to release an impact assessment of coronavirus restrictions as he continues to try to convince Conservative MPs to back his plan for a new tiered system in England when the national shutdown ends on Wednesday.
The prime minister is expected to share an analysis of the health, economic and social ramifications of the measures taken to suppress COVID-19 ahead of a tough Commons vote on Tuesday.
According to a Sky News tally, more than 60 Conservative MPs have expressed dissatisfaction with the staggering or threatened to rebel over the new measures when it comes to voting.
On Saturday night, Johnson wrote a letter to possible conservative rebels offering several olive branches to ensure his support for the system.
But despite offering them another chance to vote on the restrictions early next year, meaning the measures could expire on February 3, several said they still have reservations.
Conservative MP Peter Bone said he was “undecided” and would make a decision after seeing the impact assessment, saying: “The dilemma I have is whether we do more damage with the tiered lock system, or we do less.”
Another prominent Conservative supporter said his vote was “still in the balance” as he urged Johnson to provide an analysis of how the tier restrictions will affect companies, saying he was not confident the government was really considering his needs.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, who is expected to be in talks with England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, has not yet said whether the party will support the tiered system.
If the party votes against, and if Johnson suffers a major rebellion from his own MPs, the government could lose the vote.
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However, the prime minister’s argument in favor of the strict restrictions will be reinforced by new figures of a Imperial College London Study Suggesting Coronavirus Infections Down By Nearly A Third In England during the second national shutdown.
Professor Paul Elliott, director of the React study at Imperial, has said the findings suggested that levels before early November, followed by closure, helped reduce cases.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who appeared on Sky News’ Sunday show Sophy Ridge, said the new tiered restrictions were necessary to “enforce” COVID-19.
“The reality is that we want to get out of the national blockade and stay out of it,” he said.
“We are starting with a more restrictive approach than before with the localized approach, but that allows us to relax when we are sure that the virus is decreasing and stabilizing – there is a review every two weeks.
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Under the new proposed restrictions, only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will be under the lightest Level 1 controls, while large swaths of the Midlands, Northeast and North West are at the most restrictive Level 3.
In total, 99% of England will enter Level 2 or 3, with strict restrictions on bars and restaurants and a ban on homes mixing indoors.
A further 215 coronavirus deaths were announced in the UK on Sunday, bringing the total to 58,245.
