Sir John Hayes voted for the tier system in the House of Commons on Tuesday after receiving written assurance that Lincolnshire will be reviewed by district on December 16.
The county is currently in Tier 3 with leaders across the area fighting for a drop to Tier 2 for South Holland and South Kesteven, saying the current coronavirus figures don’t warrant the strictest measures in those areas.
Sir John, who is MP for South Holland and the Deepings, wrote to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and had meetings with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, urging them to reconsider the tier for his constituency.
He said: “I put up the argument that levels are low and are falling and on the basis of the evidence it’s ridiculous to put us in Tier 3.
“I am determined to do right by our area.
He had vowed not to back the tier system in the House of Commons vote if he had not received a letter assuring him that Lincolnshire’s tier would be reviewed on December 16. That letter was delivered late on Tuesday afternoon.
Sir John said: “I have now got a concession from the government that they will look at areas within counties, including Lincolnshire.
“They will be looking at South Lincolnshire on its on merits based on the five criteria set out in the Coronavirus Winter Plan and on that criteria, as it stands, we should be in T2.
“Unless there is a spike in cases I’m confident that we will move to T2 on December 16.”
Sir John addressed the issue of the risk of hospitals in the area being overrun saying: “It’s not just the Pilgrim Hospital that serves South Holland, people from here go to Peterborough and King’s Lynn too.
“The hospitals are doing an amazing job and they are not at capacity – they’re not even on the edge of capacity.”
Sir John believes South Holland should never have been placed in T3 to begin with but says the district should only be in it for a very short time.
He said: “I never wanted us to be in T3 but at least we will have the period from December 16/17 for the hospitality industry to get some Christmas trade, including Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
“This is a real achievement to get the government to agree to look at each part of the county on its own merits.”
