Prime minister Boris Johnson has responded to concerns about the effects of an influx of visitors to Brighton and Hove by saying our MPs should “show some guts” in reopening the city.
Mr Johnson today announced that pubs and restaurants will be able to reopen from July 4 as long as they keep customers 1m apart and keep records of their names and addresses so they can be traced if a coronavirus outbreak is linked to the venue.
Hove MP Peter Kyle asked how people living in popular destinations could be kept safe when crowds of people from far and wide come to the city and mingle on the seafront where tracking customers will be a challenge.
Mr Johnson responded by saying he and other MPs should have confidence in the “sensible package of measures” the Government is putting in place.
Mr Kyle said: “It’s good news that people can start socialising and meeting in public again. But what is he going to do to make sure that destination communities such as the one I represent in Brighton and Hove are extra safe?
“Because there will be people meeting and drinking in places like the seafront and in parks where it will be impossible to get the names and addresses of every customer.
“There will be other pinch points where people from various destinations will be rubbing up against each other.
“What will he do in the absence of the promised app to make sure these communities are destinations for investment and not destinations for Covid?”
Mr Johnson replied: “I will be calling on local representatives such as himself to show some guts and determination and champion their communities as venues for people to return to and support.
“I think that he can do that with confidence because we are introducing a sensible package of measures that allows businesses gradually to reopen while ensuring social distancing
“It’s that mixture plus the NHS test and trace scheme which allows us to go forward. That is the formula which works.
“As for the issue of putting names behind the bar or registering in restaurants – I do think that is something people get and as far as possible we want people to do that.
“We want businesses to comply with that as we believe it will be very important for our ability to track back and stop outbreaks happening, so I think he should encourage all businesses to take the names of customers.”
We need labour
Keep everyone in until goes away then go out then be safe
Build affordable housing fund nhs stop Brexit Put money into blm stop statues and free WiFi For those on universal credit
You lot must be kidding
Seafront today was rammed
People everywhere not a sign that anything has ever happened
We are already open
Typical macho bombast from bungling Boris deflecting attention from his failure to provide the Brighton public the protection of a effective test,tracking and tracing system.
This poor and rubbish even by the bumbling dePfeffel’s buck-passing standards! Take some responsibility for your government’s appalling failures. Or Resign!
The test and trace fiasco means it’s very difficult for our city to welcome tourists again.
It’s one thing to have locals – or those without work or school – hanging out in numbers and gathering on Hove lawns or the beach – and another to have an influx of visitors, some of whom will bring in the virus from elsewhere, potentially starting a second wave of infection.
Without the ability to trace where any new outbreak happens, we cannot re-start the local visitor economy.
Most locals already seem to be flouting lockdown rules, perhaps because trust in authority is at an all time low since the Cummings scandal… And, can you imagine being asked to go back into full lockdown again? – I suspect people just won’t do that.
Maybe that’s what the PM wants, for Brighton and Hove. And then he can just blame us – for the continuing mess that he didn’t start but which his decisions made far worse than anywhere else in Europe.
Hundreds of locals work outside of this city, many commute up and down to Gatwick, London and beyond. Some of them may also unwittingly bring the virus back here and or transport it to their place of work and further. We are also a city who has actively hosted and continues to host mass protests. Focusing solely on ‘tourists’ was a very poor attempt at garnering the PM’s attention in my view and to be honest, I am not surprised it was given short shrift. It may have had a better result if it were asked by another MP from another seaside resort. Yes I agree, the track and trace app has been a shambles and would have helped a great deal in trying to keep a tab on the importing and exporting of the virus in and out of the city. Every man, woman and child for themselves it seems.
What the hell is the matter with the Conservative Party? Why have they not replaced this ineffectual blabbermouth with a more believable & trustworthy MP at this catastrophic moment?
Are they paralysed? We need a serious & responsible Prime Minister!
Didn’t hear from politicians saying much when we had mass demonstrations on the beach, whilst I fully support BLM , surely so many packed together on our seafront wasn’t a good idea either. Some demonstrators were very sensible and tried to keep social distancing many did not.
When he showed guts early on he ended up in ICU.
Boris is a grade A fud. Better for everyone if he’d stayed in the fridge or his promised ditch
This is, of course weather dependant.
Bad weather = few people.
So . . . no support here for Boris Johnson?
Why then do so many still think cheeky Boris is “the man for the job”?
On my reckoning I think this relaxation of the rules mixed with a confusing set of dos and don’ts is a deliberate ploy to cause chaos, meaning the PM can blame the public for not “doing their bit”.
The same will be true of Brexit.
There’s a pattern forming here.
I don’t care who you might vote for, that straw-headed bumbler made it personal, and in my book that deserves a full response in kind. He mocked our city and the people who live here for a cheap point – another one in a long line of “look at those Brightonians with their liberal ways, their art and their … ‘effeteness’, nudge, nudge, wink, wink” jokes, and handed each of us a metaphorical white feather. No, I’m not having it. This is a community who sent 26 little ships to Dunkirk and St Valery. We’ve shown plenty of guts, without the pompous grandstanding, and even to phrase the question belies Boris Johnson’s lack of qualification to ask it.
Why do we continue to take it? Why do we allow ourselves to be told what to do by numpties like him and the rest in the capital… who are all very happy to take advantage and swan down here for a holiday when they fancy – before resorting to another jibe whenever they require a tabloid-pandering scapegoat to make the rest of ‘In-ger-land’ look good by comparison? I think it’s time for a change in the way we relate to the national government. It’s time we decided for ourselves what we do and do not want to happen here, beyond whether we redesign Victoria Gardens. There’s plenty of room in the royal Pavilion: let’s install Duke Harry and Duchess Meghan and declare the autonomous Grand Duchy of Sussex, under the flag of the martlets and with the motto: We wunt be druv!
No, I’m not quite sure exactly how serious I am, Boris! Do you want to find out? 🙂