Has prime minister been reined in?

JM Branch, Little Gaynes Lane, Upminster, writes:

Perish the thoughts but has the prime minister, after offering the nation as near normal a Christmas as possible, spread over five days, been reined in by his “advisers”, so that the festive season is now reduced to one day coupled with the imposition of even greater restrictions?

And in these circumstances has not the appearance of a new strain of the virus been convenient for the government?

No justification for new restrictions

Cllr David Durant, Rainham and Wennington Independent Residents Group, writes:

The council leader says, “There is no responsible option for any of us but to abide by the new rules in full for as long as they are in place because this is about saving lives and protecting the NHS.”

This statement is nonsense, as the government is subjecting Tier 4 areas to a collective punishment beating, which is illegal under international law.

There is no justification for these new restrictions.

The 1984 Public Health Act only allows for a proportionate response to an infectious disease and so rather than sit back and await an indefinite outcome, the council leader, along with others, should seek a Judicial Review of the government’s by decree claim the 1984 Public Health Act allows a disproportionate response.

Or better still our MPs should take back control from the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse aka prime minister, health secretary, chief scientific and medical officers!

Must find ways to help fund TfL

Dr Alison Moore, Londonwide Assembly member, writes:

The pandemic continues to cripple Transport for London’s main source of income, which comes from passenger fares.

Despite this, the government has so far refused to provide TfL with the sustainable and long-term funding deal it needs to keep services running smoothly and to secure the future of key infrastructure projects – which are crucial for job creation and supporting London’s economic recovery.

This has meant that City Hall and TfL have been forced to find other ways of making up the financial deficit they face in future years.

One of the fairest solutions would be for ministers to allow London to keep hold of the money it collects through Vehicle Excise Duty.

This is worth around £500million per year, and is currently spent to subsidise road maintenance in other parts of the country.

If the Department for Transport will not come to the table to discuss this, the mayor has signalled that he might need to explore the option of a new boundary charge in future years.

This would mean that motorists outside of the capital, would need to pay a £3.50 charge to drive into Greater London.
The ball is now in the government’s court.