I won’t let the government cancel Christmas — will you?
It is hard to believe that just weeks ago, there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel.
The autumn sun was bringing people out of the house and back into offices, shops, restaurants and bars.
But the period of positive convalescence for the mental, physical and economic trauma this country has been through seemed too good to be true — and it turns out it was.
Measure by measure, a government hellbent on pleasing absolutely no one introduced more and more draconian restrictions until we were back almost to square one. It began with the rule of six and a 10pm curfew on hospitality businesses (neither backed up by science), and has led us to a situation where a postcode lottery decides whether or not we can leave our own homes.
The most recent brainwave from government officials is to suggest that families may be unable to enjoy Christmas Day together. It has been widely reported that in Tier 1, gatherings on the 25 December will not be permitted to exceed six people, while in Tiers 2 and 3, you won’t be allowed to enjoy your pigs in blankets with anyone at all outside of your own household. When Wizzard sang “I wish it could be Christmas everyday”, I doubt they had 2020 in mind.
It is not just the concept of cancelling Christmas that will enrage and horrify the general public, but the manner in which it is planned to be enforced. It is hugely disproportionate and heavy-handed to suggest that police officers will be about patrolling communities breaking up family gatherings. When we step back and consider that local forces will apparently be expected to enter homes on Christmas Day and separate loved ones, it is clear to see how far down the road to dystopia we have come.
It may only seem like one day in the year, but for millions of people across the country, whatever their religious beliefs, Christmas is one of the few days when families are generally able to meet up as a group and celebrate.
Sadly, this is part of a growing trend over the last six months, where the things that make life worth living are gradually taken away from us. And patience is wearing thin. Whether you have had your wedding cancelled or were unable to see a partner for months, I anticipate that preventing families from gathering this winter will be the final nail in the coffin for many.
It is this continuous curtailment of our liberties and rights with impunity that has led me to take the government to court over its lockdown policies. Today and tomorrow, the Court of Appeal will hear my Judicial Review against the government’s decision to introduce lockdown in the first instance. With the prospect of a second lockdown looking more imminent by the day, I would urge you to join me in holding this tinpot dictatorship to account and get our lives back on the road to normality. Don’t let them cancel Christmas.
Main image credit: Getty