Boris Johnson has said there is “every reason” to believe “the worst is nearly behind us” as he seeks to win round a 70-strong group of sceptical Tory MPs to head off a backbench rebellion over Covid-19 curbs. Rebellious MPs are expected to focus on the economic impact of restrictions elsewhere in the UK this week. The party backed the government on previous restrictions but the shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, said Labour was seeking clarity on the new tier system and her party’s support was “not unconditional”. On Sunday, the former Conservative chief whip Mark Harper, who chairs the CRG, renewed the group’s call for an impact analysis to be published, insisting it must be “hard evidence not hyperbole”. On a visit to north Wales the prime minister will launch the government’s medicines and diagnostic manufacturing transformation fund.

Source: The Guardian November 29, 2020 22:30 UTC