The Prime Minister’s announcement of a national lockdown is deeply disappointing for people in Warrington.

The restrictions will come into effect from Thursday and will mean that people will have to stay at home (besides from a number of restrictions- which can be found on the Government and Council websites), bars and restaurants have to close, but schools and nurseries will stay open.

It is totally dispiriting that this news was once again leaked to national newspapers last night, rather than through official and accessible channels.

Our town has been hit hard by the first lockdown and the new restrictions in recent weeks. Today’s announcement will therefore cause great anxiety for our town.

I want to reassure that I will continue to fight hard to ensure that we are treated fairly. From a sharp increase in local COVID-19 testing to a greater package of financial support and for the Government to be transparent about its exit strategy.

I also want to make clear that this decision was not inevitable. If the Government had sorted out Track and Trace, by devolving it to councils rather than their friends who run Serco this could have been averted. The need for a lockdown is a clear policy failure for the Government and they must be held to account for that.

Labour called for a national circuit-breaker eighteen days ago and pointed out that the longer the Government waited to do so, the longer the restrictions would have to play in place. The Government chose to make this decision and have massively let down people in Warrington.