Coronavirus: MPs back in Parliament for England lockdown vote

MPs have returned to Parliament for a vote on the new lockdown law which applies to England as of Wednesday.

They were due to be on their Christmas recess until 11 January, but the government recalled them to debate the change in regulations.

The lockdown has already come into force, but some Tory backbenchers are critical of the decision.

However, with Labour saying it will support the measures, the law enforcing them is likely to be approved.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs - many of whom are participating remotely - that the vaccine programme provided a "means of escape" from the current lockdown, with 1.3 million people in the UK already receiving jabs.

The regulations allow the lockdown to be in place until the end of March.

Mr Johnson said: "We are in a tough final stretch, made even tougher by the new [coronavirus] variant, but this country will come through with the miracle of scientific endeavour."

There was "clear route" through the crisis, he added, saying: "After the marathon of last year, we are now in a sprint to reach the inevitable end."

But the prime minister argued; "If we are going to win this race... we must ask people to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party would support the government in the vote, calling this "perhaps the worst moment of the pandemic".

But he criticised ministers' handling of the crisis, saying the situation was "not inevitable".

Sir Keir said: "This is the third time the country has been asked to close its doors. We need to make sure it's the last."

A number of Conservative MPs have criticised previous lockdown measures.

There is understood to be concern from some over the wording of the law, and especially that it allows the lockdown to be in place until the end of March.

Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne, a consistent critic of lockdowns, told the Commons the latest measures would damage businesses and were "pervaded by a pettifogging malice".

The prime minister announced the lockdown for England on Monday, which means everyone must stay at home except for permitted reasons - such as food shopping or getting medicines.

All non-essential retail, hospitality and personal care services must close, or remain closed. All primary schools, secondary schools and colleges moved to remote learning, except for vulnerable children and the children of key workers.

On Tuesday, the number of new daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK topped 60,000 for the first time since the pandemic started, with a further 830 deaths recorded.

Later, MPs will be able to debate the new law until 19:00 GMT - with a vote expected to follow.

When the government introduced its tougher tier system in December, 55 Tories voted against the measure - the biggest rebellion of Mr Johnson's premiership - and in November, 34 of his own MPs voted against the four-week lockdown.

The expectation is there will be fewer rebels than in either of those votes, but some have hinted they could abstain rather than support the new law.

One Tory MP told the BBC said there was a "huge amount of frustration behind the scenes".

But with Labour backing the legislation and the majority of the Conservative Party supporting the government, the rebels may have little impact and the lockdown will continue as planned.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a lockdown for Scotland on Monday, while Wales and Northern Ireland have been in lockdown since December.