Lockdown rules should be decided by local authority, says Shrewsbury MP
An MP has said Shropshire Council should be given the authority to decide the level of coronavirus restrictions in the area when the national lockdown ends next month.
Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, called for a more 'granular' approach to tackling the pandemic, and said it was wrong that areas with relatively low rates of the virus should be subjected to the same rules as those where it was more prevalent.
The comments came after former ministers Mark Harper and Steve Baker formed the Coronavirus Recovery Group, which says it will resist any attempts to extend the national lockdown which came into force last week.
The group says the Government should instead be drawing up a strategy to manage the virus until a suitable vaccine is in place.
Sources claimed that 50 Conservative MPs had already joined the group, with dozens more considering membership.
Mr Johnson argued that the four-week lockdown was needed to prevent an "existential threat" to the NHS and said he expected England to return to a local tiered system when the measures end on December 2.
Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, welcomed the formation of the group.
"It is right and proper that the Government is listening to the epidimiological advice in a pandemic, and I'm encouraged that the group is being formed to scrutinise the epidimiological advice that top-level experts are giving the Government," he said.
"I welcome the group, I think it has got some assiduous people in it, and hopefully it will be a transparent and constructive way of holding the Government to account, rather different to the approach of Sir Kier, who is just throwing brickbats."
Mr Kawczynski said he would be very concerned about any extension of the national lockdown beyond its current expiry date of December 2.
He said he would also be opposed to any plans for restrictions to be imposed on a broad, regional basis, saying the situation in Shropshire was very different to the more urban areas of the West Midlands.
Mr Kawczynski said he had met with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak this week, and had made the case that the 'R-rate' – the rate at which the virus was able to reproduce – was much lower in Shropshire than other parts of the UK.
"I told him I would like to see a much more granular approach," he said.
"I would propose that the Shropshire unitary authority should have the power and responsibility, in consultation with local medical experts, to determine what tier is appropriate."
Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, said would not want to see the restrictions extended, but had no plans to join the group.
"I would be very unhappy about any further lockdowns and hope that reduced infection rates along with a new vaccine will prevent any new restrictions being put in place," he said.
"But I am focusing on helping local families, pensioners and businesses rather than joining new groups."
Lucy Allan, MP for Telford, did not comment on the formation of the group, but said: “The lockdown is time limited by law and I welcome the return of the tiered system from December 3.”
Mr Harper, a former chief whip, said he was greatly concerned about the impact the strict lockdown measures were having on the country.
"The cure we're prescribing runs the risk of being worse than the disease," he said.
"The Covid Recovery Group will play its part in helping the Government to deliver an enduring strategy for living with the virus, so that we break the transmission of the disease, command public support, end this devastating cycle of repeated restrictions and start living in a sustainable way until an effective and safe vaccine is successfully rolled out across the population."
