Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham column: We cannot waste four weeks

It is a decision which no one wants to take and which nothing can prepare you for. When I got into politics it was to do much the opposite. I am a free-market Conservative. I believe that people should be able to live their lives as they want, businesses free to trade and compete with one another, and the state as unobtrusive as possible.

And so, the thought of telling people to close their business, furlough their staff and stay away from friends and family is something that has, over the last few days, caused me genuine anxiety.

But as your MP I have a deep and humbling job to do. To look at the facts, speak to the experts, and make a decision – however difficult – which I think will balance the protection of the lives and livelihoods of everyone across Burnley and Padiham, and ensure we get through this period.

That has been my focus for much of this week.

I have spent the last week reviewing economic data from the first lockdown, speaking to Government, its advisers, the local NHS, independent scientists and medical experts too.

What came across in all those conversations was that action, however unpleasant, is needed. The second wave is here and a decision on how to deal with it can’t wait. If we do wait the local NHS position is clear. I’m told we risk unacceptable pressure on our two hospitals in East Lancashire which poses a significant threat to people’s ability to gain treatment, not just for Covid-19 but other serious health problems.

Doctors faced with a choice of who to care for when treatments are available but beds are not. None of us want to see that situation with our own families and goes some way to explain why a majority of the respondents in my lockdown survey supported the idea of a short national lockdown.

Staying in Tier 3, as we have been for the past two weeks would no doubt bring the rate down over time but this could well take until the new year.

With the situation we currently face in the NHS we need to reduce cases much more quickly. And whilst our rate is already falling, it remains stubbornly high compared to the rest of the country.

We have had restrictions locally for a long time and it is also not economically sustainable to maintain restrictions in the long-term.

We need to get the R rate down so we can get out of them, and the quicker we can do that, the better.

So as difficult as these restrictions will be, they should be seen as an essential opportunity to get the R rate back to 1, to get test and trace functioning as it needs to, and to give the best possible chance for the worst affected areas, like ours, to recover.

I know that for our local businesses this lockdown will be tough, but with the support packages that are in place it should be manageable.

The Chancellor has been willing to move and engage on how we get through this month.

I’ll be doing all I can to get support to where it is needed as quickly as possible. But my greater worry was, and remains, the long-term economic impact.

That is something that I raised directly with the Prime Minister in the House on Monday and something that I will continue to work on over the coming days and weeks – ensuring we have a long-term plan for economic recovery.

It isn’t all gloom though. Our scientists continue to lead the global charge for a vaccine and whilst nothing is guaranteed we will shortly know the outcome of the advanced trials that are taking place.

The rollout of rapid testing is also well underway, and these could also allow a much greater reopening of the economy, whether we get a vaccine or not.

Because whilst a vaccine is the best solution, we can’t rely on it completely. Rapid testing, with tracing, is a sustainable and long-term solution.

We cannot waste the next 4 weeks, and we must now quickly accelerate our rapid testing and tracing programme.

I know that not everyone will agree with my decision and people feel very passionately about this, but I honestly do not see what else I can do with the evidence provided. It’s not a decision I came to lightly and is perhaps the hardest one I’ve faced.

Whatever the next few weeks bring we will get through it and as your representative I will do everything I can to get Burnley back on its feet.