Second National Lockdown: Here's The Sussex MPs Who Voted Against It

Here are the Sussex MPs who voted against the legislation needed for a second national lockdown, which passed yesterday (Wednesday).

The vote, held last night, was the topic of controversy within the Conservative party, with several Tory MPs planning to rebel against Boris Johnson's motion. 

The legislation was passed after a majority of 477 voted in favour of it (516 for, 39 against).

A total of three MPs in Sussex voted against the introduction of national lockdown measures, and one abstained from voting.

Huw Merriman - Bexhill and Battle

Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, Huw Merriman, voted against the Government legislation and spoke in the House of Commons on the subject.

Speaking in parliament, Huw Merriman said:

"When looking at this issue and my vote this evening, I look at the evidence and ask myself three questions.

"Can our local NHS cope? Have we properly assessed the impact of the regional lockdowns? Which path will be the least destructive to the health and wellbeing of the constituents who sent me here to serve them?

"When it comes to the local NHS, the figures today show that we have 24 Covid in-patients being treated by East Sussex county hospitals. Of those, a third are being treated in the community, and not one of them is in a high-dependency unit.

"I have been asked whether I have met anyone who has lost a loved one through covid. The answer to that is, tragically, yes I have, and the heart goes out to them, but I have also attended the funeral of a friend in the past year who took his life, having lost his job.

"I have met people who have not attended hospital appointments and now have terminal illnesses and who wish to goodness that they had attended them. I have met people who suffer domestic abuse behind closed doors that has not been uncovered.

"I have met people who have lost their jobs and the roofs over their heads and who have lost everything in life and become destitute. I have also met people experiencing mental health torture from isolation and loneliness from which they cannot recover.

"Those lives matter, too, and because I cannot see any evidence that there will not be more of those lives impacted than the lives we save, I am unable to support these measures and will vote against them this evening."

Tim Loughton - East Worthing and Shoreham

Fellow Conservative MP Tim Loughton also went against the Govenment plans, speaking in the House of Commons, he said:

"Let us be clear: there is no risk-free option. This is all about balancing and managing risk, but too often the advice from clinical experts is confusing and contradictory.

"Why is SAGE using predictions of 4,000 fatalities per day, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) said, when the actual figure turns out to be 1,000 at most?

"Why can projections from a couple of weeks or 10 days ago turn out to be so wrong that they need to be revised so sharply? Is the problem that too often we seem to conflate scenarios with forecasts? Where is the clarity over how many of those deaths might reasonably be expected as seasonal flu deaths if covid was not a thing?​

"Clearly, the science is not black and white, and we must consider the impact of all the measures holistically and not look just at what one set of scientists is telling us.

"The impact on business is of greatest concern, as many hon. Members have said, and the hospitality industry has been hit hugely.

"The service industry that relies on the hospitality industry has almost been forgotten, and already struggling small and apparently non-essential shops that have just stocked up for Christmas are losing their trade to supermarkets and garden centres up the road.

"In the aviation and international tourism industry, travel agents cannot be furloughed because they need to process refunds, for which they get no payment at all.

"The other crucial factor is what people are prepared to accept and follow, and that is linked to confidence and the explanations they are given. People see apparent contradictions such as, 'Go and exercise, but you can’t play golf. You can’t play tennis and children cannot exercise outside. You can’t go to church,' and if logic is not being applied, people’s confidence is trashed.

"For me, the case is not proven, the proposed measures are not proportionate, and I cannot vote for them."

Henry Smith - Crawley

Conservative MP for Crawley, Henry Smith, also voted in opposition of the legislation - however he made no comment in parliament. 

Previously, Mr Smith has expressed the need for support for Crawley, which relies heavily on business and travel trade from Gatwick airport - disrupted during the pandemic.

The latest lockdown restrictions state that travel should be avoided unless for an essential reason, including business travel.

International travel is still subject to quarantine restrictions from many areas.

Except for Horsham MP, Jeremy Quinn, who abstained from voting, all other MPs for Sussex voted to approve the second national lockdown.