Minister warns new tighter lockdown restrictions in the North could be there ‘until after Christmas’

A government minister has warned that new lockdown rules could be in place in parts of the North of England until Christmas.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has warned that tough restrictions may be needed to stay in place until after the festive season.

The new three-tier system for localised controls is set to be announced in the Commons later today, and could come into effect from as early as Wednesday. 

Parts of the North including Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle are set to be placed in the highest and strictest tier, which is expected to see the closure of pubs, bars, gyms and see limits on travel and social contact.

Mr Dowden spoke to Sky News: “The purpose of doing this is to ensure that we get the virus under control so that by the time we get through to after Christmas we are in that position where it’s under control.

“Indeed I hope it will be sooner than that.”

“The point of moving to this tiered system is so that in those most highly affected areas, we’ve got measures in place to control the virus.”

“If those measures are successful, we hope to be able to take areas out of those higher levels of restrictions.”

According to a poll conducted by Sky News, the public believes Christmas gatherings should be sacrificed to help fight the battle of coronavirus. 

75% of people surveyed think the restrictions will be in place until Christmas and 46% support a return to lockdown conditions until March. 

When do you think the new tighter restrictions should last until?