MP FOR Poole said the government “has panicked and reacted too quickly” after announcing a second national lockdown to last four weeks.

As reported, prime minister Boris Johnson announced a set of stringent measures on Saturday to help tackle the second wave of coronavirus.

Pubs, restaurants, entertainment venues and non-essential shops will shut from Thursday November 5, education settings will remain open.

And Conservative MP Sir Robert Syms said the lockdown was not a satisfactory outcome.
Sir Robert told the Daily Echo: “We are already seeing in some areas the infection going down.

“There are plenty of hospital beds, we didn’t come near capacity earlier in the year.

“The cost of the lockdown, it could be half a million unemployed, £40 or 50 billion of public money, that is the cost of non-Covid health and the mental health implications.”

Sir Robert said he would vote against the new lockdown but thought it would be passed anyway.

He continued: “I think it is a pity for all those businesses in Poole which have been working very hard, they have put in Covid measures for customers, all those people cutting hair and everything else, they have all lost considerable amount of income.

“Even if there is a furlough, a scheme of payments for businesses, just before Christmas isn’t a great time.

“There are many companies I know make their profit in the run to Christmas. Many would have bought Christmas stock already which will be sitting burning money.

“I don’t think it is a satisfactory situation, I think it is the wrong decision but it looks like we will have to go through it.

“I don’t think we are seeing massive growth of infections. There are signs things are levelling out.”

He added: “I don’t see it going on beyond a month. We are going to have to come out the other side and get through it.”

On the other hand, MP for Bournemouth East, Tobias Ellwood, supported the measures, stating the scale of the second wave was "deadly", but would have preferred to have seen a tier four.

Mr Ellwood said: "I think anybody that saw the prime minister's briefing will acknowledge we have a tough winter ahead.

"It calls on all of us to take the necessary steps to slow the virus down. It is clear the NHS will be deluged and the number of deaths will continue to climb.

"I would have liked to have seen a tier four introduced. Dorset and Bournemouth are less impacted and some would argue don't warrant participating in a national lockdown.

"It is clear from the data we are heading towards a bigger spike, therefore it does make sense."

Mr Ellwood said he will be analysing the financial support package for the hospitality industry and looking for a plan for when the lockdown ends.

"I understand everyone is anxious," he said. "We have to acknowledge we have a tough winter ahead and we will get through this.

"We need to see this as a six month challenge top get us through to spring when the introduction of a safe vaccine will be the game-changer. That is the light at the end of the tunnel."