Lisa Nandy appeared on the radio station to defend the Government’s decision to not lift Covid restrictions sooner despite a successful vaccination programme. Julia Hartley-Brewer did not let the shadow minister off lightly and erupted as she pointed out the inconsistency of continuing lockdown measures despite the most vulnerable now protected. Ms Nandy struggled to get a word in as she attempted to defend her position.
Speaking on talkRADIO, Ms Hartley-Brewer asked the politician: “Shouldn’t we be moving the roadmap sooner given that the data tells us that we can move to earlier dates?”
Ms Nandy said: “It might be possible, we have regular briefings with the SAGE scientists and they haven’t said that it’s safe to move more quickly.”
Ms Hartley-Brewer interrupted and asked why the scientists thought so.
But as the shadow minister attempted to answer the question the radio host followed up by asking if the vaccine worked or not.
Ms Nandy tried to explain that there were many people who had not received the vaccine with Ms Hartley-Brewer pointing out that nearly every vulnerable person has received theirs in the UK.
The Labour frontbencher added: “You still have transmission among the younger population who haven’t yet had the vaccine.
“We have to make sure that we don’t unravel this progress Julia I really do support what you say about the impact that lockdown has had.
“I’ve seen it for myself in Wigan, but the truth is if we end up getting this wrong now we will end up in another lockdown.”
Ms Hartley-Brewer has been a staunch critic of prolonged lockdown measures and has been vocal that she would like to see restrictions lifted sooner.
The radio host also pushed for schools to reopen quicker near the beginning of the year when they remained closed due to Government restrictions.
Over 33 million people have received their first vaccine in the UK with around 13.2 million people receiving both doses.
The programme has now opened for those aged 41 and above as the UK has one of the best vaccination rates in the world.
