Covid cases are decreasing in a dozen London boroughs according to official stats as the case for London to be put into Tier 2 after lockdown is bolstered.
Many Tory MPs are pleading with the Government to introduce tiers on a borough-by-borough basis but ministers are not considering anything like this. The Government would get on the wrong side of MPs and business chiefs if the capital has draconian Tier 3 restrictions imposed, which would “cripple” the hospitality sector and other firms in the run-up to Christmas.
MP for Wimbledon, ex Tory health minister Stephen Hammond, said: “There is no evidence that would support putting London into Tier 3. We all recognise we need to act responsibly to defeat the virus but strangling so many London small businesses would be wrong.” Although business leaders warned that Tier 2 would be a major blow for London’s battered economy, they said Tier 3 would be a “disaster”.
The arts sector will likely collapse under tier 3 restrictions but may not even survive in tier 2 or even tier 1 restrictions, Conservative MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, Sir Bob Neill, said: “Tier 3 would be completely unacceptable (for London) and economically crippling.”
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said: “London going into Tier 2 next week would seem the right and sensible decision.” He added that it would be a “hammer blow” to the hospitality sector in the capital if it forced to stay closed for the festive season or even longer.
Felicity Buchan, Kensington Tory MP, said: “Clearly the numbers just do not justify Tier 3 for London at all.”
During an appearance on BBC Breakfast, Travel minister Grant Shapps said:
“We don’t want to, with this tier system this time, get into days or even weeks of protracted negotiation — the science is what it is, we all know how coronavirus spreads now, we all understand that we have to take these measures, as ghastly as they are, to protect each other’s health.”
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