Why I’m seeking a Judicial Review of the government’s draconian lockdown measures
Last month, Boris Johnson addressed the nation and told us to “stay alert”.
But with the passing of each day of this totalitarian lockdown, it is clear that it is the government that is leading us like lemmings into disaster, taking us towards the cliff edge with them.
My application to the High Court for a Judicial Review of the government’s lockdown regulations has now been filed and accepted. It contains over 1,200 pages of legal documentation which show that, from the very start, the government’s handling of this crisis has been nothing but shambolic.
While it is my name written on the claim form, I sincerely believe that this is a collective effort, made on behalf of the thousands of individuals, businesses and families waking up to the daylight robbery of their livelihoods and the grim reality of an unparalleled recession.
Through this legal action – together – we are challenging the catastrophic set of decisions made by those gathered around the meeting room table in Number 10 Downing Street and the secretive SAGE meetings, which are leaving an indelible print on the nation’s freedoms and blighting the lives of generations to come.
First, the economic consequences. Every new day that lockdown restrictions remain in place is another day the country cannot afford, with billions being wiped from the economy with the passing of each 24 hours.
The extension of the government’s furlough scheme past the original three months was met by many with a sigh of relief. But I cannot help but wonder whether these people will have jobs to return to. With the number of people furloughed or unemployed standing at 10 million, costs have now reached £350bn – or £13,500 per household on bailout.
Eventually, that money will have to be paid back. We are closing our eyes to the nightmare of a cavernous deficit which we will eventually have to face. For those lucky enough to have jobs at the end of this crisis, income tax could increase by up to 10p on every pound. National debt could haunt our children and grandchildren’s lives.
Then there are the social costs. The daily news reports try to lead us to believe that the nation is united in its fight against the pandemic, but this is a fantasy. In reality, people are already voting with their feet against lockdown – just look at the crowds coming together on the beaches and in the parks.
How can the government expect people to obey the confusing tangle of rules and guidelines, when they have removed our basic freedoms while offering no real clarity as to how and why these decisions have been made – or when the day might come where they finally end.
Finally, the procedural implications. On VE day, the nation celebrated the surrender of Nazi Germany after more than 350,000 British soldiers gave their lives to protect this country from tyranny. Yet when lockdown restrictions were implemented back in March, there was no scrutiny, debate, or vote, not even a squeak of protest. What has happened to the British love of liberty?
How easily the government scared us into this new era where grandparents cannot see their grandchildren, where the bereaved view the funerals of loved ones through a screen. Our children are missing out on rites of passage such as their final day at school and their first term at university, while ministers are telling us whose gardens we can sit in and how many people we can see – even who we are permitted to have sex with.
These measures are nothing short of draconian.
For weeks the government has attempted to placate us with changes to the lockdown laws which are without real substance and increasingly bizarre in their inconsistencies. We are now permitted to visit a garden centre and sunbathe, but our freedom to run our businesses and make a living continues to be denied.
The 4,000 people who have donated their hard-earned money to our crowdfunding campaign have seen the truth – that the policies we have so willingly adopted are completely disproportionate to the harm they are supposed to be aimed at preventing. A Judicial Review is the only effective means of challenging these policies and holding the government properly to account.
Through this legal action, I am firstly challenging the interference with our human rights in several areas: our private and family lives, education, freedom of assembly, right to liberty, and the enjoyment of property.
Second, I am claiming that the sweeping lockdown regulations introduced by the government in England are “ultra vires”, meaning that the government did not have power to introduce them as they did).
Finally, I am disputing the lawfulness of the government’s “five tests” for lifting the lockdown, which do not take adequate notice of the huge damage being done to millions of people and their livelihoods.
At the heart of this case is the protection of freedom and liberty of the British people. How many hours do we each spend dreaming about our post-lockdown lives? Sadly, life will not simply snap back into place like it does in the movies. We can’t just put on a facemask and get on with it like nothing has happened.
We will be living with the consequences for the rest of our lives. And that is why this case, which looks at the justification for such unprecedented government interferance, is the most important of our time.
Main image credit: Getty