Business leader accuses Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western of putting his party before his constituents after he chose to abstain in crucial Covid vote

But Mr Western said his choice to abstain was the 'only responsible position' he could take and that he will continue to fight against the measures placed on Warwick and Leamington
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The chair of Leamington's Chamber of Trade has accused Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western of putting his party before his constituents after he chose to abstain in last night's crucial vote over Covid restrictions.

The whole of Warwickshire moved into the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions at midnight after the Government won its vote to bring in harsher restrictions.

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Mr Western was one of many people who spoke out against the measure, which will have a huge impact on the local hospitality sector.

The chair of Leamington's Chamber of Trade has accused Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western of putting his party before his constituents after he chose to abstain in last night's crucial vote over Covid restrictions.The chair of Leamington's Chamber of Trade has accused Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western of putting his party before his constituents after he chose to abstain in last night's crucial vote over Covid restrictions.
The chair of Leamington's Chamber of Trade has accused Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western of putting his party before his constituents after he chose to abstain in last night's crucial vote over Covid restrictions.

But Hayley Key, chair of Leamington Chamber of Trade, said she had hoped he would vote against the measures.

However, he chose to abstain under the instructions of the Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Kenilworth and Southam MP Jeremy Wright voted against the measures - the first time he has rebelled against the party line in ten years.

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Hayley said: "This week Matt Western MP asked the Leamington Chamber of Trade to support him in writing to the Chancellor asking for a change in the proposed tier system for Warwick and Leamington.

"The Chamber were happy to support him in this as we are desperate to do all we can to get hospitality businesses open for December to aid our local economy.

"It was therefore very disappointing to see him abstain from voting on this crucial matter in parliament on Tuesday. After such promising collaboration we had hoped that our MP would have put the needs of jobs in his constituency before party politics and made a stand against the current tier system. He sadly did not.

"This leaves us fighting for our businesses and for our employees without a strong voice in Westminster.

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"The Leamington Chamber will continue to put local jobs first and do all they can to get the needs of our local businesses heard during these turbulent times. We only wish our MP would do the same."

Mr Western said his choice to abstain was the 'only responsible position' he could take and that he will continue to fight against the measures placed on Warwick and Leamington.

He said: "It is clear that England needed new restrictions from this week (December 2) following the four week ‘lockdown-lite’ introduced by the Government. Our health professionals and scientists demanded them. That’s why the vote this week in Parliament was so important: if the Government’s proposals had been voted down, we would have no restrictions in place whatsoever for the whole of England. So voting against them was a serious risk to public health across our country.

"However, the proposals were ‘blunt’, in particular the designation of tiers: the Government’s decision last week to place Warwick and Leamington together with the whole of Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull into Tier 3 was both a shock but also angered many. This allocation is simply not reflective of the current situation in our immediate community. I understand how dispiriting this is for both residents and businesses.

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"Last Friday I wrote once more to the Secretary of State for Health, as well as the Chancellor, asking them to revise the tier system, to explain how the decision to place Warwick District in Tier 3 was reached, and to take into account the hardship that those in the highest tier will face, particularly those in the hospitality sector. They have unfortunately not done so.

"The vote on the overall tier system was a yes or no vote on the restrictions for the whole of England. It was unamendable so we as the opposition could not modify the restrictions. As I say, as a result, had the proposed tier system been voted down we would have been left without any restrictions from today, December 2.

"That was the responsibility I had to ensure we had strong public health measures in place to save lives and protect the NHS.

"However, I clearly could not vote for a tier allocation for our area that I do not support or believe in. Therefore, as the only responsible position to take, I abstained.

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"My focus will continue to be on lobbying for the Warwick and Leamington constituency not to be included in Tier 3 and ensuring that businesses and residents who are badly hit get the financial support they need. That is what Labour is pressing for and why we are demanding to see the ‘Secret’ evidence being held by Government and why we will push for a vote to release this next week if they fail to do so."