YVONNE FOVARGUE - Effective strategy needs to be built

The country cannot afford for this saga to carry on. Only Boris Johnson can draw a line under it.

Keir Starmer has said that if he was Prime Minister, he would have sacked Dominic Cummings.

Boris Johnson should follow that advice. If he does not act then he will send a clear message that there is one rule for his closest adviser and another for the British people.

The British people were looking for at least an apology from Dominic Cummings for breaking the lockdown. They got none.

Millions of people have made extraordinary sacrifices during the lockdown. Families have been forced apart, sometimes in the most tragic of circumstances. They stayed at home to protect the NHS and save lives.

And yet, the message from this Government is clear: It’s one rule for Boris Johnson’s closest adviser, another for everybody else.

The furlough scheme is a lifeline for millions. The Government was right not to pull it away.

It is welcome that the Chancellor has heeded the call by Labour, trade unions, and businesses for more flexibility in the scheme, to support employees to go back to work part-time.

The government must clarify when employers will be required to start making contributions, and how much they’ll be asked to pay.

If every business is suddenly required to make a substantial contribution from the 1st August onwards, there is a very real risk that we will see mass redundancies.

Many businesses simply won’t be in a position to pay 40 per cent of wages if they are not allowed to open fully - and will be forced to lay off staff.

This approach from government will cost jobs and slow the recovery in critical sectors of our economy.

Lockdown itself is not a strategy, and the government need to build an effective strategy to control the spread of the virus in the community.

I want the government to succeed in this. Easing restrictions on the economy and reopening society safely will only work if there is an effective test, trace and isolate system in place.

With the right system, we can avoid another damaging lockdown and reduce the risks to the public’s health as we open up our society.

The UK decision to abandon contact tracing on March 12 is widely viewed as one of the most serious mistakes of the crisis.

That is why Keir Starmer has set out a 10-point plan for an effective test, track and protect system, which includes better using local public health and primary care teams, improved testing and contact tracing systems and support for people who need to self-isolate as a result.

The plan also calls for immediate quarantining of international arrivals, sanitisation of public spaces, improved support for social care and clear communication tailored to local communities.

I have welcomed the decision of the Government to ‘call in’ the application to develop greenbelt land at Junction 25, M6.

For local campaigners in Winstanley, Hawkley Hall, Bryn and ward councillors, this is a decade long fight to protect the site from ‘Big Shed’ development.

An inquiry will now be held alongside a controversial application in neighbouring St Helens (Parkside) and I will continue to oppose any development on this site.