Wakefield MP among 50 Conservatives to demand government find 'exit map' from Covid restrictions

Wakefield's MP is one of 50 Conservatives who have written to the government to demand an 'exit map' for lockdown as restrictions increase across the north.
Imran Ahmad KhanImran Ahmad Khan
Imran Ahmad Khan

The Northern Research Group is made up of more than 50 Conservative MPs from the north of England, including Imran Ahmad Khan.

The group claims the Covid-19 pandemic has “has exposed in sharp relief the deep structural and systemic disadvantage faced by our communities”.

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MPs expressed concerns that government's plan to "level up" the north is being forgotten as more regions are plunged into more significant lockdowns with no clear way out.

The north is one of the most severely affected areas with 92 per cent of the hospitality industry forced to close situated in the regions.

A total of 8.2 million people in England – one in seven – will soon be living under tier 3, the most stringent. More than 2 million people in West Yorkshire could soon be under similar restrictions.

In the letter, the MP wrote: “We believe this would threaten to undermine the government’s hard-won mandate in December, at a time when the political and economic case for the levelling-up agenda we have been elected to deliver has never been more essential.

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"The cost of Covid could be paid for by the downgrading of the levelling-up agenda, and northern constituencies like ours will be left behind”.

The group asked called for “a pathway down the tiering system” and “a tailored economic recovery plan” for the north."

It said road, rail and other infrastructure projects should be brought forward.