Opinion: ‘The protection Peterborough needs’

Good news is limited in a pandemic, particularly during a winter lockdown. Even the weather is depressing.

One cheering fact is that close to 5 million vaccines have been administered. This includes more than half of those aged 80 or over. It really does give cause for hope.

It also compares rather favourably to the rest of Europe.

I remember Labour criticising the Government last year for avoiding the EU’s vaccine scheme.

Yet this enabled us to start weeks ahead of other countries.

We are providing double the number of vaccinations, per person per day, than anywhere else in Europe. Germany and France are miles behind.

We have to keep this up. Our target of reaching all of the most vulnerable during February, which includes around 15 million people, is ambitious. But the UK programme is on track.

Nearly 90% of COVID deaths have been among this group. That’s why vaccination is so important to saving lives.

Scotland and Wales remain a bit of a problem.

I’m not sure the Welsh first minister intended to remind England of what Labour are like in power, but it’s working, unlike his deliberate ‘go slow’ approach.

There is good news on other fronts too. Regular readers will know how frustrated I have been about unauthorised travellers’ camps, which regularly blight parts of Peterborough. Making these camps a criminal offence was a Conservative manifesto pledge at the general election.

It’s also something I’ve raised in the House of Commons, where the Home Secretary was able to assure me that new legislation was coming.

A formal consultation has concluded and the Home Office is indicating that the changes will be published next week, as part of a new criminal justice bill.

A Government source was quoted saying: ‘These camps cause distress and disruption for millions of people right across the country, so it’s right we are giving the police the powers they need to bring this to an end.’

I couldn’t agree more.

The police will be able to seize vehicles and arrest travellers who refuse to move on. Anyone breaching the new laws will face a three-month prison sentence, a £2,500 fine, or both.

It’s reported that just two caravans will be enough to trigger action. Councils will get extra powers and the police will also be able to prosecute travellers if they return to a specific site within a year.

Before the end of 2021, Peterborough should finally have the protection it needs.

Not everyone is happy. I think the travellers’ groups claiming it’s ‘deeply unfair’ should have a word with locals in Werrington, who had to endure several weeks of misery and the rubbish that was left behind. Was that fair?

How can it be fair to break the law, abuse people’s property and public land, cause chaos, require the City Council to get a court order, literally befoul the ground and then drive off to repeat the exactly same process somewhere else?

It’s as selfish and antisocial as it gets.

Anyone who regards this behaviour as a valid ‘way of life’ should try living with it on their doorstep. Their bleating would stop in a hurry.

Like me, I suspect most people in our city are delighted that we are delivering on our promises.