Tory MP says UK should not ‘blindly follow’ experts’ advice on coronavirus
The UK should not “blindly follow” experts’ advice on how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, a Tory MP has warned.
Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe, said ministers should reject a second lockdown and “avoid the monopoly rule of experts”.
Writing on Conservative Home, he said: “Ministers and experts have worked hard in good faith, but the pandemic has asked the impossible of them.
“We must not blindly follow whatever strategy is put forward by scientists with a monopoly on advice.”
Me for @ConHome: prepare for plan B ⤵️
"We need experts and expertise, but we must beware of experts with counterproductive incentives, and of the structural problem of the division of expertise among fields and individuals."https://t.co/WQBWw4eoQ0— Steve Baker MP (@SteveBakerHW) October 19, 2020
He went on: “We now know that [government scientific advisers] SAGE has suggested another national lockdown, but calling it a “circuit breaker” cannot make it costless.
“The immense economic, social and non-Coronavirus health damage that the first lockdown caused means that we cannot allow another.”
His comments come amid growing tensions within the Conservative Party over lockdown measures.
Last month chancellor Rishi Sunak appeared to support a loosening of measures, telling Parliament that Britons must learn to live “without fear”.
He said: “Lives can no longer be put on hold”, adding: “We find meaning and hope through our friends and family, through our work, through our community.”
Watch: How will England's three-tier local lockdown system work?
But other Tory MPs reportedly back tighter measures, and some are said to be frustrated by a “middle of the road” approach that neither imposes a further lockdown nor loosens restrictions enough to allow the economy to recover.
Last week, Matt Hancock hit back at suggestions that UK should pursue herd immunity in line with recommendations of the so-called Great Barrington declaration by a group of doctors and scientists.
The health secretary said he disagreed with the proposal’s premise of granting young people unfettered freedoms while advising older and vulnerable people to shield.
Boris Johnson has so far resisted advice from Sage to put a short “circuit-breaker” lockdown in place, instead imposing the new three-tier system to try to quell the virus.
Watch: Can you catch coronavirus twice?
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