West Dorset MP Chris Loder is urging Government to reduce Dorset to Tier 1 in the upcoming review tomorrow, as well as giving Bridport Leisure Centre a special mention.

He stood up and spoke in the House of Commons yesterday evening (Monday) to make the case for more localised tiering to benefit rural Dorset where "the number of cases has considerably reduced".

He said: "I make that case and I make that plea today to the Government that we look more local tiering, the fact that my constituency of West Dorset on its western extremity is 55 miles from the main commercial centre of Bournemouth, which is influencing that tier, I'm not sure is quite right.

"And, indeed, I make the case for Dorset itself to be put into Tier 1 at the Government's review coming this week."

He said that cases yesterday in Dorset were 43.1 per 100,000, a considerable reduction over previous weeks, which is also lower than Cornwall and the Isle of Wight when the decision was made to place them in Tier 1. They were 58.5 and 56.4 respectively.

Mr Loder also highlighted that there was one coronavirus case reported in rural Dorset on December 12, compared to 85 cases reported on November 9, with Dorset County Hospital having just one patient with coronavirus on Friday.

He added: "It is clear to me that Dorset has a very strong case for its tier to be reviewed and I couldn't strongly enough encourage the minister to consider that.

"The good people of rural Dorset, and indeed West Dorset, have been diligent, they have been self-responsible, they have been respectful, not only in themselves and families, but of others in the community.

"But we also need to recognise the effect on wider business and our economy. Shops, pubs, breweries - they have very, very diligently taken that responsibility of being Covid secure, they have invested a lot of money. In many cases it is safer for constituents in the community to be in those places than to be at home.

"We have 6,525 businesses in West Dorset, 97 per cent of them are micro or small-sized. It means they face the most difficult circumstances and, I'm afraid, are most affected by the situation.

"It is incumbent on me as their MP to make sure their voice is heard in this place."

Mr Loder visited the Cerne Abbas brewery on Friday evening, with the owner telling him the business is in difficulty.

"In West Dorset as well, we have the Bridport independent leisure centre," he said, "we also have a number of pubs and, I'm afraid, they have already started to close, and justifying to constituents the difference between pubs and coffee shops that are open is incredibly difficult to do.

"On Wednesday, we have a considerable opportunity, the Government has a considerable opportunity, not just to reduce the tier in rural Dorset, but to allow West Dorset to play its part in supporting the wider United Kingdom's economy when it needs it most. There is no reason why our economy should be constrained, we are more than happy to support the rest of the UK in its period of need.

"I cannot urge the Government enough to reduce Dorset to Tier 1 in the forthcoming review this week."

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