WOKINGHAM MP John Redwood says “it will take an awful lot” to persuade him to vote for another national lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is urging MPs to back a four-week lockdown in the House of Commons on Wednesday, November 4.

He hopes the lockdown (due to begin on November 5) will save thousands of lives and prevent NHS hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, by curbing the spread of Covid-19.

Under the current plans, pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops will close and people will only be allowed to leave their homes for education, work, food shopping, medical care, and exercise.

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Mr Redwood said: “In it’s current shape, it looks like it’s going to be too damaging to jobs, livelihoods and businesses.

“I want to understand more about the rational to make sure it would have some beneficial impact on handling the virus.”

The Conservative backbencher said he is “listening to what the government has to say” about the national lockdown plans and he will make recommendations about improvements.

He said: “Until that process is completed, I’m not going to make a formal statement about how I will vote.

“It will depend on what the final recommendations are, but it will take an awful lot to persuade me to vote for it if it’s anything like the current proposal.”

He also said the three-tier local lockdown system “had its problems” because many people were reluctant to co-operate with the NHS Test and Trace system, but it is “better” than a national lockdown.

Mr Redwood is now calling on the government to allow pubs to provide takeaway services throughout lockdown.

He also wants garden centres and outdoor sports facilities, such as golf and tennis clubs, remain open.

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He added: “Somehow the government has to find a way of persuading and encouraging more people to reduce the amount of social contact they have, to reduce the spread of the virus.

“I think that’s very difficult to do by law.

“I don’t think a democratic government, however well intentioned, can set out detailed laws for how everybody leads their private and business lives and how they use their own homes.

“It’s too difficult to come up with rules that everyone thinks are fair and it’s too difficult to enforce them.”

He added: “What is the exit plan? We’ve done this once already.”