We still are in need of urgent action to get more booster availability

By Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset

On Wednesday last week at 11.45am, it was quietly reported online that the Prime Minister had set out Plan B – not that Parliament was aware at that point. At 4.42pm it was confirmed that a one-line whip was in place – in reality that means MPs can go home. At 5.04pm Mark Harper asked a point of order about whether a statement was planned and the ensuing visible scramble around the Speaker and clerks lead to a statement at 6pm, which announced Plan B etc. The day felt incredibly “managed” with the Downing Street Christmas party revelations unfolding.

Many of us felt uncomfortable about the statement content and the appearance of leaving the statement to the end of the day, if indeed one was planned at all, has left a sour taste in the mouth of those of us who value a good, trusting, working relationship. It has lead us to scrutinise the information presented more, especially when you’re told that there is a rapid increase in South African hospitalisations and then find out that only a fraction of the population are vaccinated.

Despite leading the way nationally during the vaccine rollout in West Dorset, many of my older constituents are faced with difficulties in getting booster jabs, because the capacity is not available. Our GPs came to the rescue last time and surgeries facilitated walk in clinics with the help of local volunteers. But the reality is that our GPs and nurses have come under massive, and in many cases unfair political pressure for needing to provide more face-to-face appointments as a result. The reality is – they don’t have the capacity to do both.

Plan B in itself might come across as risk mitigating and rolling out sensible measures, but rolling out the booster to those over 18 before those over 60 have been offered it is not a good move. My local CCG says my letter asking for action may take 25 days to get a reply and despite questions to both the Minister and Secretary of State, we still are in need of urgent action to get more booster availability in Dorset and I know other constituencies are the same.

The regulation giving the most concern is vaccine passports. The government tells us that the regulation isn’t just about this, but that a proof of negative test is also acceptable in the prescribed situation. But there is huge concern that this is the thin end of the wedge and I think that many MPs, like me, will be unable to vote for these “passports”. Vaccinated or not, albeit at reduced risk, you can still get Covid, and so a confirmed negative test is better anyway.

The other is mandatory vaccinations for hospital staff. We have considerable staffing difficulties across the healthcare sector at the moment. Ambulance wait times of 4 or 5 hours, vacancy gaps of 5-6%, GP surgeries in desperate need of more GPs to function. I do not think it is the right policy to mandate vaccinations, thus forcing people to leave their jobs and exacerbate this issue.

At the end of the day, this is about basic liberties and freedoms. Whilst Labour is happy to, we will not surrender those lightly, and to see the evidence that supports these measures should not be a big ask because insights do not support that Omicron is more deadly. Until the evidence is presented that this is needed and therefore not just a distraction, many Conservative MPs will find it difficult to support.