• Leadership comes with responsibility. If Prime Minister is unable to act in the national interest, he should step aside for the good of the country.
• A September Circuit Breaker would have saved lives and avoided the misery of another National Lockdown
• A ‘Take It or Leave It’ Lockdown Vote is a result of Prime Minister ignoring the scientific advice.
• Parliament vote 516 to 38 for New National Restrictions from 5 November: National Restrictions Guidance

Covid 19 presents no easy decisions; balancing economic interests with the health and lives of your friends, family and community.

I voted to support the New National Restrictions.

It does not mean I support the Government’s approach to Covid 19 or that I support everything contained within the new national restrictions.

MPs did not pick and chose the regulations; we had to either support or reject a national lockdown. As the number of cases and deaths begin to rise, we must try to avoid a covid winter crisis. However, we could have avoided such a damaging lockdown.

The Government’s decision to ignore the scientific advice in September led to a Covid resurgence.

Labour called for the Government to follow the scientific advice. The Scientific Advisory Body for Emergencies (SAGE) proposed a time-limited circuit breaker on 21 September warning of “catastrophic consequences” in terms of Covid deaths. When the Government rejected this advice, there were 11 covid deaths. Six weeks later, MPs debated a national lockdown on a day when 492 people died from Covid.

I am in no doubt, a circuit breaker in September would have been unpopular. The Prime Minister attacked Labour’s support for the policy, accusing us of wanting to impose the misery of another national lockdown, damage the economy, and threaten jobs.

The country is paying the price for a lack of leadership as the Prime Minister’s bluster and dithering has led to a longer, more damaging, national lockdown.

People are angry, with the Government and MPs who voted for a national lockdown. I understand as I feel the same. I am angry that the Government ignored the scientific advice and had to call for a longer, more damaging national lockdown.

The lack of leadership and the collective failure of the Government has caused the national lockdown. They must now step up and ensure all businesses that are closed and suffering from this failure of leadership are compensated and supported.

The Prime Minister must realise that leadership comes with responsibility. If he is unable to listen and act in the national interest, he should step aside for the good of the country.