Boris Johnson is scrambling to contain a growing Tory rebellion over his toughened new tier system, with Labour to abstain from voting.
Sir Keir Starmer said the party will break with Government over the restrictions in the Commons vote today – leaving the PM at the mercy of his backbenchers.
The Labour leader – who has backed Downing Street’s measures throughout the pandemic – said while his party had ‘misgivings’ over the new rules it would not be in the national interest to vote them down when the virus still posed a ‘serious risk’.
He added: ‘However, I remain deeply concerned that Boris Johnson’s government has failed to use this latest lockdown to put a credible health and economic plan in place.
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‘We still don’t have a functioning testing system, public health messaging is confused, and businesses across the country are crying out for more effective economic support to get them through the winter months.’
Although the PM is still expected to win the vote, his majority will be slashed by Labour’s abstention, which will be deeply embarrassing for the Government.
The move to whip Labour MPs to abstain is likely to spark fears in No 10 that Mr Johnson can no longer count on the opposition’s support for stricter measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, which have become unpopular with his own MPs.
Many Tories are furious their constituencies face stricter controls than before the latest lockdown, which ends on Wednesday.
Around 50 Conservative MPs are predicted to come out against the Government in the vote to approve the tier system of Covid curbs in England, according to Sky news
The restrictions place 99% of the country under the toughest two tiers, with just three areas afforded the freedoms of tier one.
With scores of backbenchers deeply unhappy, the vote is likely to throw Tory divisions into sharp relief.
A handful of left-wing MPs are expected to join rebel Tories in voting against the restrictions.
At a No 10 news conference on Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he hoped some areas could be moved into lower tiers when the restrictions come up for their first fortnightly review on December 16.
But scientists advising the Government have made clear they see little scope for any widespread easing before Christmas.
It could mean most areas of England will go into the new year in one of the toughest two tiers with a ban on households mixing indoors and strict controls on the hospitality sector.
Mr Johnson is expected to announce a £40m handout to pubs hit hardest by the coronavirus restrictions when he opens the debate in the Commons today,
In a move demanded by many of the rebel Tory MPs, the compensation will be paid to so-called ‘wet’ pubs and bars which are unable to open and serve ‘substantial meals’ under the new tier two rules.
Earlier, a 48-page analysis of the impact of the tier system on the nation’s health and economy was dismissed by senior MPs as inadequate and unconvincing.
The report acknowledged there would be ‘significant costs’ to individuals, society and the economy, but said the consequences for public health in allowing the virus to run unchecked would be ‘much worse’.
It said that without strong measures in place, the R number – the rate of reproduction of the virus – was likely to rise significantly above 1, leaving the NHS unable to cope.
However Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs opposed to tougher restrictions, said the document acknowledged the ‘precise size and duration’ of any breach in the capacity of the NHS to cope was ‘not possible to predict’.
There was frustration among MPs that the analysis did not include a detailed breakdown of the effects of the measures on different sectors of the economy – particularly hospitality, which has been among the hardest hit.
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