Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021

Baroness Foster of Oxton Excerpts

Tuesday 20th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, on my election to the European Parliament more than 20 years ago, it became clear early on that the Commission—or the Executive—wielded great power. There were no business impact assessments, despite our enacting primary legislation. The Commission was not keen to change the status quo, but some of us were, and eventually it gave way—albeit reluctantly. But the battles continued, as it would never admit that it was wrong. As for us, the politicians, a little courage and fortitude to hold your ground is very difficult and it is so much easier just to give in. The EU sought more and more centralising powers and aimed to micromanage every element of our lives, so we left—quite literally. When the vaccine debacle blew up last year, it summed up why we had had to go. We wanted to take back control—well, most of us did, anyway.

I do not underestimate the challenges in making the most difficult decisions that Ministers have had to make. Initially, the British people wholeheartedly supported the actions that were taken. The vaccine was and is the silver bullet, and we all bought into it. However, in my view, the hand of the state is now riding roughshod over the will of the people, still controlling everything we do and how we are allowed to think. If you question, say, a lockdown or a mask, you are accused of wanting to “let rip”—not my words. If you publicly disagree, you are normally too stupid to understand, and if you actually demonstrate then obviously you are an anarchist, which the majority plainly are not. So when Ministers turn up to the Dispatch Box, hiding behind the 2020 emergency powers Act, without a full business impact assessment and wishing to broaden the scope without consultation, that is a step too far.

I am a great supporter of the vaccines but I will not support coercion or anyone being forced to have it to keep their job or feed their family. This debate is now moving away from public health and into the realms of state control. The goalposts move daily. The public and businesses have no idea what is happening next. Contradictions abound. “Ping-gate”, as it is called, is causing chaos. It was always advisory but the public were deliberately kept in the dark. Thousands of workers and children have been self-isolating who are fit and well—500,000 last week. Test and trace is all over the place while, in my view, forcibly testing school children with no symptoms has been an outrage.

And so to holidays. The Minister decides and announces that France is now in amber plus, despite the fact that the beta variant is in Réunion, which is 6,000 miles away. It is a bit like a new “foxtrot” variant emerging in the Falklands. Portugal went back to amber—naturally, post the Champions League—and the Balearics are where all the families go, so they are in amber too, but not if it is a pilot. At concerts in Liverpool three months ago, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and Wembley there was no distancing and no masks and there have been no spikes so they were not dangerous.

This brings me to SAGE. Some 366 members sit on 10 working groups and committees, 18 of whom remain anonymous. I do not question their integrity but they are unelected, wielding powers that affect our freedoms, movement and association with people. It beats me how they would ever agree—but they do not, really, because different medics and scientists contradict their colleagues on mainstream media every day, normally those appearing to want to wallow in bad news. The behavioural commissions admitted that they had used scare tactics and propaganda to make the public comply—terrified, more like it.

So here we are, 18 months down the line. Ministers and politicians cannot continue to hide behind the science, advisers, focus groups and opinion polls. It is about being accountable, transparent and bold. Can you imagine a Thatcher Government or the likes of my noble and learned friend Lord Clarke and my noble friends Lord Tebbit, Lord Lamont, Lord Lilley and Lord Forsyth, or many others in this House, not rigorously challenging the advice?

In conclusion, no one gave any Government the authority to take away the civil rights that we earned over centuries. We fought and died for them. No Government can demand respect; they have to earn it. We, the people, will take back control. We will get back to normal. So it behoves the Minister, along with his colleagues, to make sure that that happens. It gives me no pleasure to speak out against my own Government but, in my view, to remain silent today would have been remiss of me.