Katy Balls

Boris Johnson will address the nation this evening in an 8 p.m. address over rising coronavirus rates. Ahead of the statement, a No. 10 spokesperson said the Prime Minister is 'clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives'. It's also been announced that parliament will be recalled on Wednesday to debate new measures. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a lockdown in Scotland earlier today while Keir Starmer and Jeremy Hunt called for further measures in England. The expectation among MPs now is that the PM will likely announce some form of national lockdown – whether by name or placing the whole of England under Tier 4 along with potential school closures.

Boris Johnson kicked off the new year with an appearance on The Andrew Marr show in which he warned of tough weeks ahead for the country. With Covid cases on the rise and concerns among the scientific community that the current restrictions will not be enough to contain spread of the virus, the Prime Minister said that restrictions are 'alas probably about to get tougher'. https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1345670653463191552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Johnson told Marr that the government was 'entirely reconciled to doing what it takes to get the virus down and that may involve tougher measures in the weeks ahead' – even if that meant doing things in the next few weeks that 'will be tougher in many parts of the country'.

When Boris Johnson's Brexit deal comes to a vote in the Commons on Wednesday, expect a bigger rebellion on the Labour benches than among Tory MPs. This afternoon, the  European Research Group of Conservative eurosceptics have given their approval to the Brexit deal. After studying the agreement, the ERG 'star chamber' – led by Bill Cash – concluded that the deal is 'consistent with the restoration of UK sovereignty'.  In terms of the pros and cons of what has been agreed, the group say 'the "level playing field" clauses go further than in comparable trade agreements' they have concluded that their impact 'on the practical exercise of sovereignty is likely to be limited if addressed by a robust government'.

As ministers consider placing more areas under Tier 4 restrictions in the upcoming tier review, there are a growing number of Tory MPs keen to get back to parliament and scrutinise the government's plans. However, they will likely have to wait. Coffee House understands that plans are afoot to push back recess dates by a week.  When the Commons sits on Wednesday to vote on Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, MPs will also be asked to vote to extend recess until 11 January. It had been due to end 7 January. MPs have been told the reason for the change of plan is concerns over Covid rates – and that MPs travelling from various parts of the country could fuel further spread of the virus.

After Boris Johnson waxed lyrical about his Brexit deal in today's Downing Street press conference, it's now over to MPs to give their verdict. During the press conference announcing the terms of the deal agreed between the UK and EU, the Prime Minister confirmed that the government plans to put the deal to a vote on 30 December. MPs have already voiced concerns about the lack of time for proper scrutiny – and the text of the full deal (500 pages plus another 1,000 in annexes) is still to be published. But, despite this, the initial signs are promising for the government. Prior to finalising the deal this afternoon, the Prime Minister had conversations over the phone with several Brexiteer MPs to brief them on the outline of the deal.

As 16.4 million people wake up to the first day of Tier 4 restrictions, many are asking for how long the draconian measures will be in place. While the restrictions will be reviewed at the end of the month, the Health Secretary said they could be in place for much longer than a few weeks. Speaking on Sky News, Hancock suggested areas could have to remain under Tier 4 until the vaccine has been rolled out.  Asked whether people in Tier 4 should expect to remain in Tier 4 until a vaccine is rolled out, he told Sophy Ridge: 'Well we’ve really got to get this under control. And the cases in the Tier 4 areas, as you’ve seen from the graphs that have been presented, have absolutely rocketed in the last few days, the last two weeks or so.