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Good Morning. Just over two weeks ago MPs voted on the new tier system for England. With many Conservative MPs threatening to rebel, Boris Johnson wrote MPs before the vote suggesting that in some areas the rules could be relaxed before Christmas, and in the debate he said that in the future the system could be more localized (so that rural constituencies with low Covid rates may not be penalized for being in a country with a city with higher rates.) Today we are receiving the results of the first formal review of the system. But we have already seen tighter restrictions for London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, and journalists are being informed that any changes will be minimal. Here’s our preview story.
It is not the first time that events have not moved in the direction Johnson expected. For an explanation of why few, if any, areas will see restrictions relaxed today, take a look at the latest coronavirus statistics, which were posted quite late yesterday on the government dashboard. There were 25,161 new cases in the UK yesterday. That was the highest figure since the second week of November, when England were in the early stages of their lockdown. Week-over-week, new cases increased 36%.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30 pm: The ONS publishes its latest coronavirus infection survey.
9.30 am: Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, answers questions in the Commons.
10 am: Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, answers questions at the London assembly.
10.30 am: Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, makes the Commons weekly business statement.
Around 11.30 am: Matt Hancock, the health secretary, makes a statement to MPs on the review of the tier system for England.
12.30 pm: Downing Street conducts its daily briefing in the lobby.
12.20 h: Nicola Sturgeon, the Prime Minister of Scotland, answers questions in the Scottish Parliament.
14:00 h: Public Health England publishes its latest Covid surveillance report.
14:00 h: Liz Truss, the Minister for Equality, delivers a speech.
14:00 h: Gove testifies to the Commons Brexit committee.
4.45 pm: Gove testifies to the EU Lords committee.
Politics Live is now doubling down as the UK’s coronavirus live blog and given the way the Covid crisis overshadows everything, this will continue for the foreseeable future. But we’ll also cover non-Covid political stories, like Brexit, and when they seem more important or more interesting, they will take precedence.
Here’s our global coronavirus live blog.
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If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m in @ AndrewGorrión.
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