Watch Bexhill and Battle MP voice opposition to Rule of Six

Bexhill and Battle MP, Huw Merriman has voted against the Government’s Rule of Six coronavirus (Covid-19) restriction.
Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle SUS-200917-121433001Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle SUS-200917-121433001
Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle SUS-200917-121433001

He was one of 14 Conservative MPs to vote against the measure in Parliament last night (Tuesday, October 6).

The regulations, which enforce the rules of gatherings in England, though, were passed by 287 votes to 17 in the Commons.

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Mr Merriman, who is chairman of the transport select committee in Parliament, said he feared the rules, which were brought in on September 14, would do ‘more harm than good’.

He said: “My biggest concern is that we are ruling by consent. We need people to come with us. When people look at these rules, people I speak to who have been absolute religious devotees of lockdown, they now say ‘I’m just not going to do this anymore’ and the concern is that they won’t follow some of the other rules that do make sense that we should have in place.

“When it comes to the Rule of Six I do have great concerns because I don’t see the evidence in terms of how this will reduce the rates of Covid.

“Ultimately this has a huge impact on liberty and that has an impact on people’s happiness and their health. I represent a constituency where 28 per cent of my constituents are over the age of 65. The national average is 17 per cent.

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“So I have a lot of elderly constituents who are unable to see their families and when they see some of the other rules going on, such as five-a-side football they just don’t understand.

“I think Professor Carl Heneghan, who is the leading scientist and director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford got it right when he said the Rule of Six could well be the policy that tips the British public over the edge for it is a disturbing decision that has no scientific evidence to back it up.”

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