MP blasts 'shambolic' government amid testing shortages as local lockdowns loom

Mike Amesbury has written to Matt Hancock over Covid testing problems in Weaver Vale, as more local lockdown measures were expected to be announced across the region.

The MP for Weaver Vale has been inundated with concerns from constituents who’ve been unable to book tests or have had to make long journeys due to no local availability.

He’s called on the government to take urgent action to address the situation.

With new possible local lockdown measures looming for some parts of the North West, he also hit out at the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Mike said: “This will be a worrying and frustrating time for people, not just in  terms of their health but also for livelihoods. But we must all play our part to help get the infection rates back down again.

That being said, the Government’s mismanagement has led us to this complete shambles.

Instead of using the time they were bought with all of our sacrifices during the hard lockdowm to prepare for a second winter spike – which every legitimate expert had warned us would happen due to things such as children  going back to school – they’ve squandered the last few months doing things like giving government contracts to their mates and scrapping Public Health England.

They were warned early on that rigorous test, track and trace measures must be put in place to help avoid a second winter spike. They seemed to abandon that altogether and now what testing we do have in place increasingly seems to be unable to cope. I’ve been contacted by many constituents in recent days who’ve told me they’ve been unable to get a test, or have had to make round trips of well over 100 miles to get one – an issue I’ve raised this week in a letter to Matt Hancock.”