Will local tiers prevent another Tory rebellion?

Tomorrow will see the next flashpoint in the row between Conservative MPs and the government over the tiered system, with the publication of new allocations today, following a review of the restrictions. Backbenchers have been led to believe by ministers that there will be a more localised approach to the tiers, which is something they called for in the recent rebellion on the vote reintroducing the system.

In conversations with individual MPs, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has accepted that the decision this week to split parts of Essex and Hertfordshire in order to put the areas with high infection rates into Tier 3 set a precedent for the rest of the country. According to MPs who have spoken to him, Hancock’s demeanour has suggested that he is sympathetic to their calls for a more granular approach so that entire counties are not subject to restrictions on the basis of high infection rates in only a few areas.