North Wales Tory politicians urge Welsh Govt to rethink “disproportionate” local lockdown travel restrictions

A group of north Wales based Tory politicians have “strongly urged” the Welsh government to reconsider “disproportionate” travel restrictions being imposed on residents in Flintshire, Wrexham Denbighshire and Conwy later today.

From 6pm (Thursday, October 1) travel will not be permitted in or out those four affected north Wales counties “without a reasonable excuse,” such as work or educational reasons.

In a joint statement, the group – which includes Delyn’s MP Rob Roberts and Flintshire based Senedd Member Mark Isherwood – said that news of local lockdowns in north Wales, “came as something of a surprise to us.”

They said: “We accept that Covid-19 infection rates have generally risen across North Wales during September — although they remain significantly lower than those within local lockdown areas elsewhere.”

But, “the general public is understandably frustrated as we enter the seventh month of pandemic restrictions, and scepticism of the value of the restrictions has risen.” The group say.

Wales’ health minister Vaughan Gething said the spread of the virus in north Wales is “largely linked to people socialising indoors” and the pattern of transmission “similar to what we have seen in South Wales.”

The Tory group said: “It’s understood that raised case numbers largely relate to household transmission, as well as an element within the hospitality and healthcare sectors. There is very limited evidence that either travel or tourism is driving raised infection rates.”

“The decision to implement local lockdowns, must be seen to be made on hard evidence and to be proportionate; they should take into account the negative, as well as the positive, impacts of proposed measures; and they should be transparent and subject to debate.” The group say.

“For this reason, travel restrictions have not generally been introduced for local lockdowns in England.

Bearing this in mind, we believe that the Welsh Government’s proposed “within county” travel restrictions are disproportionate.” The statement says.

The politicians have strongly urged the Welsh government to reconsider “the scope of the restrictions, to take into account the devastating impact of travel restrictions on the wellbeing and livelihoods of local people, and a commitment to review the measures regularly.”

The group has also called for “community by community data” to be made available which is “needed to back up decisions taken, and regular communication justifying decisions must be shared with all stakeholders, including ourselves.”

They add: “It is important that all take the threat of the virus seriously and take responsibility for their actions so that we can successfully minimise the impact of a second wave of the pandemic in north Wales.”

The new measures come into force in Flintshire, Denbighshire, Conwy and Wrexham at 6pm on Thursday 1 October.

Key information:

• people will not be allowed to enter or leave the Flintshire County Council area without a reasonable excuse
• people will no longer be able to form, or be in, an extended household (sometimes called a “bubble”)
• this means meeting indoors with anyone who is not part of your household (people you live with) is not allowed at the moment, unless you have a good reason, such as providing care to a vulnerable person

The restrictions will be in addition to the rules that apply everywhere in Wales, including:

• All licensed premises must stop selling alcohol at 10pm.
• Everyone over 11 will be required to wear face coverings in indoor public areas – as is the case across Wales.