Following yesterday’s announcement of plans for further restrictions, which will include a vote on Tuesday, I think it’s important to set out my own position and why I will be voting against next week’s proposals.
Covid-19 has put us all in a position that has been unprecedented in our lifetimes. From the great uncertainty at the start, to bringing in restrictions to stop the spread, then of course our vaccination programme. We have had numerous restrictions on our freedoms and the financial and social costs have been immense. Many of us, including myself, have also lost loved ones to this virus.
I have supported many things over the last couple of years that I never thought I would do, but on the understanding that we faced an unprecedented threat and that doing nothing was not an option. The vaccination programme and most recently the booster programme have been our way out of this and it is something we should be immensely proud of, especially with the first vaccine in the world being administered right here in the U.K.
I strongly support vaccination and I have been vaccinated myself, as have others in my family. I would encourage everybody to do the same. That said, I have always believed that vaccination is a choice and if people don’t want to have it then that is up to them. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s bloody stupid not to (aside from those who can’t for medical reasons), but again that’s up to them. It’s about choice, rights and freedoms. These are things I went into politics to defend. I shudder at the thought of vaccines being made mandatory and I think what is happening in the rest of Europe right now is terrible.
I have consistently stated that I am against vaccine passports in principle. Added to this, the evidence from other countries shows that they simply do not work. I do not think it is right to create a two-tier society and for that reason I was pleased when we announced we were not going to push ahead with this. That now appears to have changed.
We know very little about the Omicron variant and from what we have observed so far the effects appear to be mild. Our hospitalisations and deaths have also dropped significantly since the vaccination programme started. I cannot justify restrictions which will not only impact personally on people’s lives, but will also be hugely detrimental to businesses at a time of year they rely upon to boost their incomes.
To bring in restrictions ‘just in case’ there is a problem is simply not good enough. I cannot justify imposing new restrictions on this basis or supporting Plan B. We can’t be risk averse to everything - otherwise we would bring in restrictions every winter because cold and flu put pressure on the NHS. If we are bringing in further restrictions then they need to be justified. I don’t believe they have been.
Labour have stated that they will be voting in support of the restrictions next week, unfortunately making it little more than a formality. If they had their way we would still be in lockdown now and we’ve all been waiting for the inevitable ‘I told you so’. We’ve all seen the co-ordinated piece of theatre in the House of Commons, where masks were worn throughout, yet not at party conferences or social events. It has just been for show.
Regardless of this, for me it is a matter of principle and I look forward, with many colleagues, to cancelling the opposition out. If they want to own this then they can do, but I will have no part in it.
There’s a time and a place for restrictions and I don’t believe this is it. People know how supportive I am of the government and how strongly I believe in what we are trying to achieve, whether it’s getting Brexit done, tackling illegal immigration or levelling up areas which have been left behind for generations. It’s therefore with a heavy heart that I find myself in the position of having to vote differently for the very first time.
I hope this explains the rationale behind my decision and that people will understand why I felt the need to speak out on this. We all want to put Covid-19 behind us and we know we aren’t out of the woods yet, but this is not the right way.
