Politics latest news: Boris Johnson's battle over tiers shifts from North to South MPs
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Boris Johnson's never-ending battle with his backbenchers looks set to shift from the North of England to the South, as MPs push back against their constituencies being placed in the highest tiers.
Yesterday the Prime Minitser warned that the majority of the country would fall in tiers two or three, ignoring calls for restrictions to be imposed on a district basis.
Data is being published tomorrow that will set out where the harshest measures are likely to fall, but Tory MPs from around the country are already lobbying to persuade Number 10 to exempt their region.
MPs from the South East and London are scrambling to save their constituencies from measures which would see hospitality shuttered in the run-up to Christmas, with one MP noting the capital was "on its knees" already.
The focal point for a potential rebellion is shifting from Jake Berry's Northern Research Group to the Covid Recovery Group, co-led by former chief whip Mark Harper and ex-minister Steve Baker. "The CRF will kick off as they just don't want any restrictions," said one MP.
Another senior backbencher warned that a "significant minority of Bakerites will continue to oppose" any restrictions at all.
With rates in the North falling, one NRG member said he had "grounds for optimism" although kept the door open to a possible rebellion.
"Tiering decisions will be announced before a vote, so it will be a considerable factor," he said.
Follow the latest updates below.
07:05 AMMore than half of England set to be in highest tiers of new Covid restrictions
More than half of England set to be in highest tiers of new Covid restrictions
More than half the country will be put into tougher restrictions when the national lockdown ends, Boris Johnson has announced.
Under the new tier system, more parts of England are expected to be placed into higher measures than they were before the national lockdown, which ends on December 2, was imposed.
Mr Johnson conceded it was "likely that more of the country is placed into tiers 2 and 3 at first" in order to "control the virus effectively".
Following the Prime Minister's announcement, a number of MPs urged the Government to put London in the lowest tier or risk economic havoc. The former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said it "must be put into Tier 1" once the lockdown ends, adding: "London is dominant in the economy and we need it to get back to work immediately."
