9 minute read
MPs
We must work together to make booster jabs available
Almost exactly a year ago, we all watched the exhilarating moment that 90 year-old Margaret Keenan received the very first covid19 jab as part of the mass-vaccination programme across the UK. As the first country in the world to begin its vaccination programme, few will forget the universal sense of relief and hope for the future the vaccine promised for us all. Twelve months later, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that our booster programme is not moving quite at the same pace as our vaccination programme up until now. Vaccinations remain our primary defence against covid and, in light of the new omicron variant, all the more important – as studies begin to suggest that three doses provide a similar level of antibodies against omicron to that of two doses against other variants. Certainly, a monumental amount of work has been done by local NHS services and providers to get jabs in as many arms as possible and I very sincerely thank staff, the NHS itself and our volunteers for their Herculean efforts. But there remain issues in our own part of Somerset – and indeed across the country – in getting those booster jabs to those who need them most. Many in rural areas, and particularly those who are housebound, have struggled to access the booster jabs they need so badly. Their frustration (and the anxiety of their loved ones who want them properly protected) has been all too clear to me as they reach out for help. Put simply, our vaccination centres, when compared to the initial rollout of the vaccine, are too few and far between. There are over 2,500 vaccination locations across England including pharmacies, GPs, vaccine centres and hospital hubs. But only a small proportion of these centres are in rural areas. There are 431 locations to get the top-up jab in London and only 242 in the entire South West – an area with a population the size of Scotland. This, and the low number of home vaccination visits, has meant that two-thirds of housebound people remain un-boosted and underprotected. These people are perhaps the most vulnerable, most susceptible and therefore most in need of the additional defence offered by the booster. More GPs and local pharmacies are needed in the effort to deliver as many boosters as possible to those who are housebound, so at Prime Minister’s Questions, on Wednesday, December 8, I asked the Prime Minister exactly what the Government is doing to improve rural access to the booster for those in need, and I’m continuing the discussion with Ministers from the Department for Health and Social Care next week to ensure my constituents are not disadvantaged. Somerset has enjoyed a tremendous vaccine programme until now, so I’ll certainly continue to press this vital issue and get us back on track. We must now work together towards a rapid solution and rekindle that glow of optimism we felt a year ago as we watched Margaret Keenan and the country lead the world and make history.
Somerton & Frome MP David Warburton
A short article for this edition. I think we’ve all got enough on our plates without great diatribes or political lectures. So, just two points from me: Just to confirm I did not attend, or indeed was invited to, any parties (or nonparties) that took place in and around Westminster last Christmas. I was here in Dorset helping with the running of school testing sites and helping constituents where and when I could. I know, not just from my own inbox but from my own ethics compass that the one thing the British Public hates is political hypocrisy. Blood pressures rises when the fear of ‘do as I say not as I do’ looks to be real. People also hate being laughed at. The ‘Stratton Video’ was such a thing, and, you know what? It wasn’t funny. Folk across North Dorset and the country strove to do the right thing because they believed (and they were right to do so) that in so doing they were protecting themselves, their communities and their loved ones. Many now feel played. Many have shared tear inducing stories of personal sacrifice for the greater good. Many just feel let down and mocked. What can I do? I think I can do two things: first, I have made my views known with a startling clarity to the powers that be at Westminster that my constituents of North Dorset do not deserve to be laughed and that the operation of Government needs to pull its socks up and pronto and; second I feel I should apologise. Not for anything I have done but for what those I call colleagues have done. There is no excuse. No ‘get
MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare
out of jail free card’ but I am sorry for the hurt, anger and frustration recent events have caused. Doing the right thing is still the right thing to do. Please continue to follow the rules. It’s hard to do so I know, but they are intended to protect you and those you love. May I wish each and every one of you a very happy, safe and healthy Christmas. Let the joy of the Christmas Story stir within us all and let the light of Christmas fill the dark days of winter. Might I also wish you all a great 2022 and that all that you hope for your loved ones and yourselves is within your grasp throughout the year. God bless and Happy Christmas!
Keep in the loop for improvements to rail service
Since the facts are changing so very fast, I want the Commons to sit over recess so we can endorse or otherwise the government’s approach in near real time. It’s vaccination that will get us through this. The PM’s target set on December 12 of around a million jabs a day for the rest of the year is way beyond our best so far. It will require a massive national effort. I have been following up on my Tisbury station site visit a while ago with ministers. The primary purpose of the visit with Network Rail and councillors was to work out an approach to the planning application to build the other side of the track. I originally got fired up on this in the summer when I got my ear bent at my roving surgery at the Nadder Centre. I have written to the council to say I am unhappy with the application principally because of access which, for the foreseeable future, will be dire. But the other reason for pacing the ground was to gather intel on the connected matter of the so-called Tisbury loop. I know all about this as I take the train from Gillingham to London and back every week. I subsequently raised the issue in the Commons suggesting that some of the money being spent on HS2 might be better spent revamping other bits of the rail infrastructure the London to Exeter and London to Bristol via Trowbridge and Salisbury lines for example. A meeting with my good friend the trains minister is now in the diary. Network Rail perfectly reasonably doesn’t want to commit to facilitating access across its track to the east of the station before a decision has been made on Tisbury’s second platform, an integral part of finally fixing the loop. Without that access I don’t see how the site to the south of the track can be developed without severely impacting on the three arches access to and from Tisbury. Great news that will please the many serving and retired soldiers in the area including my eldest daughter. The Army Officer Selection Board at Leighton House Westbury is staying put. The Defence Secretary, a graduate of the then Regular Commissions Board, announced that he had canned plans to move it to Sandhurst. I have been campaigning for it to stay local since I was first elected 20 years ago. Hopefully now its future in Wiltshire is secure. Here’s to a very merry Christmas and a much, much happier New Year!
MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison
I couldn’t vote for 32,000 NHS layoffs
We have had to make some difficult decisions as a Parliament this week. I voted against two Covid measures and, as always, I am pleased to share with you my direct insights as to why and the situation. The two regulations that have now come into law are: 1. You have to present your vaccine certification (or a test) to attend indoor events where over 500 people are attending. 2. If you work in the NHS frontline and are not vaccinated and do not agree to your employment contract conditions changing, you will be dismissed on the 1st April, 2022. You’re probably wondering: And what is so wrong with these? Fundamentally, these two regulations are about a two-tier society emerging –now based on medical status. Some fellow citizens do not feel that they can have the vaccine. There are many reasons why that could be the case. Fear, concern about medical reaction. Maybe you were so poorly from your first jab, you don’t want to risk the second. It means that, if this is you, you won’t be able to go to certain places or events. But when you get to the facts… when you see that up to 32,000 people on the NHS frontline will be dismissed on April 1, 2022, when you see that some people in our community are waiting for five hours for an ambulance. When you know there are many people still in need of their vaccine booster over the age of 60 as is the case further south in this constituency and when we have only just got the Yeatman Hospital’s MIU reopen in Sherborne and we have some NHS facilities closed in Dorchester –because of staff shortage. Am I really going to vote for up to 32,000 frontline NHS worker to be sacked on the 1st of April – the very people that have saved lives and given their all for almost two years – with them knowing that they are at higher risk..? The answer is no. It was two years ago that I was elected to represent you and – goodness, what a few years it has been! It is an enormous honour for me to represent our home on your behalf. Please get in touch if you are in need of a bellringer or an organist over Christmas –I’m very happy to help you, diary permitting. Can I finally wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas.
MP for West Dorset Chris Loder
