Angela Eagle: Tier 3 businesses that close should be 'properly compensated'
30 November 2020, 16:40
Angela Eagle says businesses forced to close under Tier 3 should be 'properly compensated'
Labour MP Angela Eagle has told LBC that hospitality, entertainment and leisure businesses forced to close under Tier 3 should be "properly compensated".
The comments come as Boris Johnson is preparing to face down dozens of rebel MPs in his own party in a vote over new post-lockdown Covid tier restrictions, which place 99% of England into Tiers 2 and 3.
Several senior Conservative MPs have already signalled their intention to abstain or vote against the measures, which would hugely impact small businesses in their areas.
Mrs Eagle, who is a Treasury Select Committee member and the Labour MP for Wallasey, told LBC that there needs to be greater clarity and financial support for hospitality, entertainment and leisure businesses.
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The Labour MP told LBC: "I want clarity and I think that if venues have to close, particularly in hospitality, entertainment and leisure because of a public health emergency, they need to be properly compensated.
"At the moment, those areas going back into Tier 3 don't seem to be getting any extra help than those in Tier 1 and that just seems to be wrong to me."
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She added: "There are some [grants] but they're not very generous at all and there is talk doing Westminster rounds today that the Government are going to be more generous to those areas in Tier 3 because they're worried about their own backbenchers voting against these restrictions.
"Well, they shouldn't be pushed and shoved into making these concessions. They should actually be making them."
