US News Covid in UK: New restrictions anger Tory MPs

© via REUTERS - JESSICA TAYLOR British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a session on the Covid-19 situation, in the House of Commons in London, this Tuesday, December 1st.

A new system of restrictions to fight the coronavirus went into effect after midnight on Tuesday in England. It will replace the national confinement decreed a month ago. However, these more restrictive restrictions are causing a great stir in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's own camp. In the vote in parliament on Tuesday night, 56 Conservative MPs rebelled to protest the impact of these measures on an already severely weakened economy.

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With our correspondent in London, Muriel Delcroix

It is not these restrictions in themselves that are being challenged but the way in which they are imposed. The new local alert system has three levels, moderate, high and very high, as in October, but the government has decided to place 99% of the population of England on the two strictest levels.

This implies that 56 million inhabitants will continue to live under strict restrictions, such as the closure of pubs and restaurants in the most affected regions, or the ban for different households to hang out indoors on the vast majority of the territory.

Above all, large geographical areas are found in level 3 while only part of the region concerned, often the most urban, has a significant number of contaminations.

It is this uniform approach that angered many Conservative MPs. They are increasingly skeptical of a strategy they believe is unfair and which is bringing the country's economy to its knees.

Admittedly their rebellion during the vote in Parliament will not have prevented the plan from passing, but this first warning shot undermines Boris Johnson's authority and this disavowal could worsen in the coming weeks if the government does not review its Politics.

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