MPs will vote on the new system of coronavirus tiers in the House of Commons this evening, amid backlash from within Conservative ranks that could see up to 100 backbenchers vote against the government.
The debate on the new system is scheduled to begin at 12.45pm, with a vote expected around 7pm.
Many MPs are angry with the new allocations which could see 99 per cent of England placed in the upper two tiers. Tiers two and three carry a ban household mixing indoors as well as strong restrictions for the hospitality industry.
The Labour Party will be abstaining from voting on the new measures, with Sir Keir Starmer announcing that the decision was due to the leader remaining “deeply concerned that Boris Johnson's government has failed to use this latest lockdown to put a credible health and economic plan in place”.
The measures will almost definitely pass regardless of rebellion from Conservative back benches.
Last month, 34 MPs voted against imposing a second national lockdown on England.
The government has argued that more stringent measures were necessary than those in place before the second lockdown, with Boris Johnson saying the previous restrictions “weren’t quite enough”.
Only three areas – Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly – have been put into tier one, the lightest band of restrictions.
The vote comes as a study by Imperial College London found that infections fell by 30 per cent across England over the last two weeks.
