Lockdown let-downs

Only a small minority of MPS voted against any of the lockdown measures during the pandemic despite the wider collateral damage they were causing. Since they were absent for months from the Palace of Westminster any coherent debate was difficult, but there was little enthusiasm to conduct one. In any case, the Government made clear it did not want its decisions challenged.

The leak of a cache of Whatsapp messages to The Daily Telegraph reveals the lengths to which ministers, and their political aides, considered going in order to suppress dissent.

One adviser to Matt Hancock, then health secretary, discussed withdrawing funding for a disability centre in James Daly’s constituency. It was suggested that the proposed facility in Bury be taken “off the table” if the MP voted against the Government. The proposed threat was among a number of measures contemplated to limit any revolt over the tiered system of controls introduced at the time in England.

In the end, Mr Daly voted against the Government along with 54 other Conservative MPS who opposed the tiers system. The measure went through with Labour abstentions.

There was precious little scrutiny of the Government’s actions during the lockdown, especially after it became clear that the virus was not as dangerous as first feared. It was incumbent on the Government to ensure the measures were proportionate to the threat and for MPS to hold them to account. Neither happened until late in the day.