Andy Richardson: Social distancing ought not be ruse so politicians can avoid scrutiny

It ought not to be a ruse so that politicians can avoid scrutiny. As calls grow for a partial recall of Parliament we ought to ask ourselves this: if some MPs were back in Westminster would more lives be saved?

The simple answer is yes. Applying pressure to the Government, holding them to account and ensuring ministers deliver on promises would benefit us all.

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A group of journalists presently fulfil that function. Each day they ask: Why is the UK on course to have the worst death toll in Europe, why is testing inadequate, why do not all frontline NHS staff have PPE, what is the Government strategy to end lockdown, and why does the public not receive information on the number of deaths in care homes? Journalists are not the official opposition.

Ministers facing questions via videolink are neither accountable nor transparent, the brilliant Rishi Sunak excluded. The time for excuses has passed. A socially-distanced Westminster should start to operate.

If shoppers in Aldi and Asda can manage to stay two metres apart, so can politicians in the House of Commons.

Of course, some MPs are taking social distancing to the extreme. While Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock form the cabinet-within-a-cabinet, Home Secretary Priti Patel has been conspicuous by her absence.

She re-emerged last week but her press conference didn’t go well. Priti stumbled over the number of Covid-19 victims, telling the nation is was: 300,000, 34,900, 74,000. We all make mistakes, we’re all human. But not correcting herself made Priti look foolish. Bad maths was the stand-out feature of the Home Secretary’s presser.

The winners and losers of Covid-19 continue to make themselves known. While NHS staff, binmen, shelf stackers, care home workers and shop keepers show their mettle, insurers studiously avoid liability while bankers do not follow the spirit of the Government’s guidance to help save viable businesses.

The public is on the side of the angels as it shows discipline by staying at home. Our societies are back to the 1970s as people sun themselves by the front door and talk to neighbours across the fence.

Let’s hope some of the relearned qualities – neighbourliness, kindness, better manners, patience – survive after we’ve beaten Covid-19.