Last night I voted with a majority of MPs to introduce the new tier system for England, which places Wiltshire in Tier 2 - with a ban on households mixing in homes or pubs and restaurants.
I had hoped we would come out of the lockdown with as few, or fewer, restrictions than when we went in; but it turns out we are more restricted than before. I am very sorry indeed about this, not least for the pubs which are the heart of many communities and which had hoped for a proper Christmas season to recover some of their losses from earlier in the year.
The Government asked MPs to agree to the tier system for the next four months, during which time there will be regular review points for each area that will not require a vote in Parliament. My view is that if this is the case, the public deserves greater clarity on what the classifications for putting an area into each tier are, and why these decisions are being made.
I have called on the scientists advising the Government to ensure that, in the future, their information can be made public. It will also be important that the Government provides clear directions to local areas about how to move down the tiers, and I raised this point with the Prime Minister last week. I understand that there will be more clarity coming. I will continue to push for this.
Many of the emails I have received demanding I vote against the tier system this week claimed that this is the only way I can represent the views of the constituency. I regularly receive views from across the spectrum, particularly on divisive issues, with individuals believing their position is reflective of the entire community.
The fact is there is no settled, obvious view about how to manage this pandemic. The one thing we can be sure of is that we are entering the final stage of the battle - with the national R rate now back to 1, and a vaccine in sight (today we had the great news that the UK is the first country in the world to approve a vaccine for use). And though we do not know for sure how long this final stage will be, to make it shorter we need to follow the spirit and letter of the rules: to keep apart as much as, consistent with basic humanity and necessity, we can, until the danger is past and we can reunite properly with our family and friends.
I am also pleased with today’s news that proper care home visits can resume. The denial of visits to old people living in care has been among the saddest aspects of this year. Things are looking up at last - albeit the immediate prospect is deeply grim.
My apologies again for not heeding the appeals from constituents opposed to the new measures.
