Who will ever vote for the Tories again? Not me!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9063385/Matt-Hancock-plunges-England-brutal-Tier-3-lockdown.html
Matt Hancock plunges Tory heartlands of Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire plus parts of Sussex and Hampshire into brutal Tier 3 lockdown - but Bristol comes down the scale
Matt Hancock faced fury today as he plunged another swathe of Tory home counties heartlands into draconian coronavirus restrictions - with 38million people now facing the toughest Tier 3.
The Health Secretary was branded 'ridiculous' as he delivered the grim news for England amid growing fears over a surge in cases.
Announced the review of the tiers in the House of Commons, he said large parts of the East and South East will go into Tier 3, including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the whole of Hertfordshire, Surrey with the exception of Waverley, Hastings and Rother on the Kent border of East Sussex, and Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire.
It means around 38million people, or 68 per cent of the population, will now be subject to the top bracket - including the Queen at Windsor Castle.
In a glimmer of light, Mr Hancock said Bristol and North Somerset will be moved down to Tier 2 - but he dashed hopes that restrictions could be eased on Manchester and parts of the Midlands.
Herefordshire is also being shifted to Tier 1 from midnight on Saturday morning.
'We must be vigilant and keep this virus under control,' Mr Hancock told MPs. 'We've come so far, we mustn't blow it now.'
He added: 'This is a moment when we act with caution.'
Mr Hancock said case rates in the south of England were up 46 per cent in the last week while hospital admissions are up by more than a third, adding in the east of England cases are up two thirds and hospital admissions up by nearly half in the last week.
He also batted away complaints from low-infection areas of Kent about the blanket status for the county, urging residents to 'behave like they have the virus'. 'It is the area of the country that has the biggest problem,' Mr Hancock said.
London, along with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, have already been upgraded into the harshest level of curbs - which mean pubs and restaurants can only serve takeaway - after seeing sharp rises in infections.
Health experts had urged Boris Johnson not to lower Tier 3 areas into Tier 2 but ministers were also warned of growing unrest in cities under the toughest restrictions.
While Tier 2 areas in Oxfordshire, East and West Sussex, Brighton and Hove and Northamptonshire have all seen a rise in infections in the last seven days, cities such as Greater Manchester and Leeds have seen their rates drop.
How many people will be in each tier when new allocations take effect?
Tier 1 - 906,374
Tier 2 - 17,488,082
Tier 3 - 37,892,505
Greater Manchester's night-time tsar Sacha Lord said the decision to keep it at the highest level was a 'kick in the teeth'. Manchester council leader Richard Leese branded it 'unbelievable'.
Worryingly for Mr Johnson, Conservative 1922 committee chair Sir Graham Brady also slammed the decisions. He said his Altrincham & Sale West seat had lower rates than Bristol, which has been downgraded. 'My constituents have behaved responsibly,' he told Mr Hancock. 'What exactly do we have to do to be moved out of Tier 3?'
Conservative MP for Stevenage Stephen McPartland said it was 'ridiculous' his area was being escalated. 'Totally unacceptable & clearly shows I was right to vote against a second lockdown & tier system,' he said.
'Government accepted on Monday that tiers should be imposed on a district basis instead of this unbalanced county-wide approach.'
Tory MP for North West Leicestershire Andrew Bridgen said it was 'disappointing news' that his constituency would stay in Tier 3. Mr Bridgen had been asking for his area to be decoupled from Leicester, which has much higher infection levels.
'It is disappointing news for my constituents who have worked so hard to suppress the virus,' he said.
The review took place as figures revealed how daily coronavirus infections in the UK have spiked by 50 per cent again as health chiefs recorded another 25,161 cases in the last 24 hours.
Covid-19 deaths have also risen 14 per cent week-on-week, with 612 new victims reported today compared to 533 a week ago.
It is the second day in a row that daily infections spiked by more than 50 per cent after 18,450 positive tests were announced on Tuesday, up from 12,282 a week earlier.
The latest Tier changes
MOVING TO TIER 3
Bedfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Berkshire
Peterborough
Hertfordshire
Surrey apart from Waverley
Hastings and Rother
Portsmouth, Gosport, Havant
MOVING FROM TIER 3 TO TIER 2
Bristol, North Somerset
MOVING FROM TIER 2 TO TIER 1
Herefordshire