WE HAVE in the UK new virus cases running at 60,000 a day with over 1,000 deaths a day, and ever rising.

The total Covid deaths in ten months 80,000. Total infections near three million.

UK Parliament voted then the 6th of January for a third lock-down. 524 MPs voted for the lock-down. 16 voted against.

How is it then that a quarter of the No MPs are MPs for our area, Dorset and New Forest West?

All the overwhelming horror of a world pandemic sweeping the country and Robert Syms, in his arguments against three months lockdown, quotes the anomaly of “fishing in a river” as a case of “breaking the law”.

As if there are not vastly more critical life and death issues at stake.

And Desmond Swayne tells us, “This is a situation of state capture, the Government is completely in thrall to a lobby driving a policy that has manifestly failed”.

All a bit rich coming from a member of the Tory European Research Group taking over, capturing, the Conservative Party, to give us a hashed up Brexit.

But that apart, the lobby you speak of Desmond Swayne is the international lobby of world science. How can any MP, in a year since Covid struck, not grasp the sheer enormity of what we are dealing with?

How can our MPs not see we are engaged in a world war. Huge sacrifices have to be made.

If we don’t lockdown, as far as we can isolate people one from another, stop all international travel, then we make no progress in suppressing the infection.

We will next year be where we are now, as we are now where we were last March. No progress, as we still struggle to grasp the enormity of what is happening.

There are no short cuts. The only option is lock-down and we hope the vaccines will then make all the difference for the future.

Deeply regrettable, and dangerous, these MPs are not grasping the bigger picture, as it effects the lives of all of us.

JUSTIN WALSH

Bournemouth Road, Poole