(With thanks to Old Owl for spotting this on a hot day)
Monthly Archives: May 2020
Police officers mocked by beachgoers in Exmouth
Cummings’ consequences? – Owl
Molly Dowrick www.devonlive.com
Footage on social media shows two police officers, apparently sent to disperse beachgoers, being mocked in Exmouth.
A Snapchat video seen by Devon Live appears to show a group of young men shouting “Oggy Oggy Oggy, Oi Oi Oi” and mocking police officers, a man and a woman, instead of heeding their advice near Orcombe Point.
The beach, which has been rammed with people of all ages, has been a popular spot for locals keen to soak up the sun during the past week.
The video, which has been shared on SnapChat and Twitter, has been viewed over 4,000 times, and is “proof that restrictions should have never been eased,” one social media user said.
The video comes as dozens of locals have shared photos from the beach and say people are ignoring social distancing.
One man said people have been socialising in groups of “at least 20,” while another joked “everybody and his auntie has come to Exmouth”.
While going to the beach is permitted under lockdown rules, groups of people from different households are not yet able to meet.
From Monday, June 1 small social gatherings will be allowed, with groups of up to six people permitted to meet outside and in private gardens.
But meeting up in a larger group is “not lawful,” Devon and Cornwall police say.
But another man says it’s just the “loud minority” who are breaching lockdown regulations.
It comes as Devon and Cornwall Police has admitted officers should have dispersed a social gathering in Plymouth on Bank Holiday Monday.
A spokesperson for the force confirmed two officers attended a planned live-music event at a car park and had engaged with the group.
But they did not send anyone home or enforce government guidance – which stipulates that people must not mingle in groups to minimise the spread of coronavirus.
Police say the event was “not lawful” and “in breach of current legislation” and the officers will receive “advice and training around current powers and its implementation” amid the lockdown.
What does the law say?
At a Downing Street briefing on Thursday, May 28, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an update to the lockdown restrictions – allowing people in England to meet up to six people outside and in private gardens from Monday, June 1.
Meeting in larger groups will still not be permitted.
Dominic Cummings’ actions damage public trust. Scientists write to Prime Minister
In a letter sent to No 10 on Friday, 26 senior UK academics and health administrators warn that public faith in the government is essential if the Covid-19 crisis is to be tackled effectively.
“As lockdown is eased, and amid fears of a second viral wave, it is vital for people in positions of power to follow the rules”
After the letter, Owl posts a few key paragraphs from the covering Guardian article which describe the concern of a number of scientists about the chaotic launch of the unprepared “test, trace and isolate scheme“. Scientists are also concerned that the overall infection rate, although falling, is too high to enable further easing and will overwhelm the scheme.
Text of the letter to the Prime Minister:
We are in a public health crisis unprecedented in living memory. We have written to the prime minister because we are very concerned for the safety and wellbeing of the public. There is ample evidence that effective epidemic control requires the public to trust and respect both the messages and the messengers who are advocating action. This trust has been badly damaged by the actions of Dominic Cummings, including his failure to stand down or resign in the public interest, and Boris Johnson’s subsequent unwillingness to remove him.
As lockdown is eased, public trust and high compliance is essential to reduce the risk of a second spike in infections and deaths. It is vital for all people in positions of power to follow the rules with the same discipline as the rest of the population. The public also needs to see that the necessary infrastructure and effective systems are put in place rapidly and effectively.
A national track and trace scheme is a major undertaking. This makes it even more crucial that there is complete transparency about likely time scales and the risks associated with the strategy and plan. The public mood is fragile and unlikely to cope with another over-optimistic target-based strategy that goes on to fail. We are also concerned that the needs of people primarily affected by non-Covid-19 diseases are being neglected. For example, since the pandemic hit, there has been a 70% or more reduction in cancer diagnoses and there is an estimated backlog of 100,000 undiagnosed or untreated cancer cases (growing by about 5,000 a week). Similar backlogs are evident in every non-communicable disease.
This exceptional situation also requires urgent and detailed planning and investment. We ask that the prime minister better harness the expertise in the NHS, social care, local authorities, academic institutions and the civil service to strengthen the response to Covid-19 and its knock-on effects on other health and care provision. We would be happy to assist in mobilising an effective strategic and operational response.
Professor Maggie Rae, president of the Faculty of Public Health, Professor Elio Riboli, Imperial College London, Professor David McCoy, Queen Mary University London, Professor David Hunter, University of Oxford, Professor Trish Greenhalgh, University of Oxford, Mike Gill, former regional director of Public Health, south-east England, Professor Raj Bhopal, University of Edinburgh, Professor Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor George Davey Smith, University of Bristol, Professor Ruth Gilbert, University College London, Professor Neil Pearce, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor Helen Ward, Imperial College London, Professor Mark S Gilthorpe, University of Leeds and Alan Turing Institute, Professor Adrian Martineau, Queen Mary University London, Professor Allyson Pollock, University of Newcastle, Dr Rochelle Burgess, UCL Institute for Global Health, Professor Paolo Vineis, Imperial College London, Anne Wilson, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Dr Tim Colbourn, University College London, Professor Majid Ezzati, Imperial College London, Professor Deborah Ashby, Imperial College London, Professor Sonia Saxena, Imperial College London, Professor Richard Healey, University of Portsmouth, Professor Deborah A Lawlor, Bristol Medical School, Professor Guiqing Lily Yao, University of Leicester, Dr Nisreen Alwan, Southampton University
To continue from www.theguardian.com
……..Just days after the health secretary, Matt Hancock, unveiled the new test, trace and isolate scheme to combat Covid-19, the top health experts say the public mood is “too fragile to cope with another over-optimistic target-based strategy”, and urge transparency over timescales and risks for the national scheme.
They say people need “to see with their own eyes that the necessary infrastructure and effective systems are put in place not just rapidly, but effectively”.
They also say there is now a high risk of an uncontrolled spike in new infections, hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19 over the summer.
One of the letter’s main authors, Prof David McCoy, director of the centre for public health at Queen Mary University, London, described the test, trace and isolate system – which aims to quarantine people with Covid-19 and those who have been in contact with them – as “a mess”.
“It is not a system,” he told the Observer. “It is just a fragmented collection of different programmes with nothing really holding them together. We needed to have spent much of April organising the test and trace programme and that was not done. We have wasted the time we had bought ourselves.”
Part of that failure could be blamed on Dominic Cummings, he added. “Firstly he breached the lockdown rules but also as the chief adviser to the prime minister he has to take some responsibility for the failure of the government to make a proper response to Covid.”
These experts’ concerns were also shared by other scientists who worry that daily rates of new cases are still too high to make test and tracing programmes feasible. Current infection rates suggest tracking operations will be quickly overwhelmed, they say. “The total number of cases a day is still substantial and there is evidence of decreasing compliance to restrictions and people moving farther away from their homes, increasing the chance of spread to previously unaffected areas,” said Prof Rowland Kao, at Edinburgh University…..
……Prof Devi Sridhar, also at Edinburgh University, said the current daily rate of thousands of new cases was unacceptably high. “Watching carefully what’s happening in east Asia and combining this with what we know so far about this virus, it does indeed feel like mistakes are being repeated,” she said. Daily new cases should be cut to double digits, or low hundreds at most, she said, while test, trace and isolate procedures are put in place and core infrastructure built up.
Graham Medley, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a member of the government’s Sage scientific advisory group, agreed that the UK was taking a risk over the loosening of lockdown because of its current relatively high incidence of infections. “There is less room for mistakes,” he added. “The precautionary principle suggests that if you are unsure about the risks, especially when the outcomes have a large impact, then you should err on the side of caution.”
Four other members of the Sage committee, Prof John Edmunds, Sir Jeremy Farrar, Prof Calum Semple and Prof Peter Horby, all warned on Saturday that the government was taking a serious risk by easing the lockdown while 8,000 people a day were being infected.
Covid-19 spreading too fast to lift lockdown in England – Sage adviser
Government advisers have voiced unease over the decision to lift England’s lockdown while thousands of people a day are still becoming infected with the coronavirus, warning that loosening restrictions could easily lead to a second wave.
Sarah Boseley www.theguardian.com
“We cannot relax our guard by very much at all,” said John Edmunds, a professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who attends meetings of Sage, the scientific advisory group on emergencies.
There are still 8,000 new infections every day in England without counting those in hospitals and care homes, Edmunds said. “If you look at it internationally, it’s a very high level of incidence.” World Health Organization statistics suggest it is the fifth highest in the world.
“The issue is, clearly there’s a need to try and get the economy restarted and people back to their jobs and so on, and also there’s a social and a mental health need to allow people to meet with their friends and families,” he said.
“I think many of us would prefer to see the incidence driven down to lower levels because that then means that we have fewer cases occurring before we relax the measures.
“I think at the moment, with relatively high incidence and relaxing the measures and also with an untested track and trace system, I think we are taking some risk here.”
The reproductive R rate is between 0.7 and 0.9, said Edmunds, who is part of several groups of mathematical modellers who combine their data to calculate the number.
Without any sort of containment, R would be between three and four, he said, meaning that each infected person would transmit the virus to three or four others.
The aim of the lockdown was to suppress it below one, at which point the number of new cases continues to shrink. But if R reaches one, and allowing more social mobility could easily allow it to rise, the number of people becoming infected each day remains the same.
That could mean 8,000 cases a day, he said. “If there’s a 1% fatality rate, that’s about 80 deaths a day. If there’s a0.5%, that’s 40 deaths a day. So that’s the number of deaths per day that we might expect to see going forward.”
It was for ministers to decide what to do, he said. That impact on health had to be set against the wider impact of the lockdown on society and the economy. “That’s clearly a political decision. It’s not a scientific decision,” he said.
Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh and also a member of the Sage modelling group, Spi-M, said there was very little chance of eradicating the virus. “That was the World Health Organization’s strategy in the early stages of this pandemic. That’s a strategy they only formally abandoned a few weeks ago. And given that yesterday saw the highest number of cases reported globally ever, global eradication doesn’t look like happening any time soon,” he said.
The relationship with Covid-19 we have had for five months “might turn out to be a lifelong relationship”, he said. It is not possible to maintain physical distancing for ever and there is no vaccine yet. “A second wave really is a clear and present danger,” he said.
He was not making predictions, he said, but intensive surveillance, large-scale screening, effective contact tracing, isolation of cases, quarantine for international arrivals and some residual physical distancing “is a possible new normal”, he said.
The South West has the highest coronavirus R-rate in the UK
(See also later post on South West R value has risen to 1, say experts.)
Ministers had refused to publish a breakdown by region but Manchester Mayor Andy Burnam released them, and they have been reported by the Mirror.
This alarming headline, however, is not supported by the Covid-19 symptom tracker data which is sowing a fall of 17% n estimated infections over the past week across the UK. It also shows current estimated symptom rates in East Devon at an all time low of 0.3%. Owl suspects that the R-rate estimates below might be lagging events. Owl has been following the Weston hospital closure which now looks to be due to the hospital itself becoming an infection hot spot.
The chart below from the symptom tracker also show that, after a long period when symptom rates held constant, they appear to be falling again.
The South West continues to have the lowest infection rate in the UK.
Visualisation of daily Covid symptom progress shown as numbers of cases per million
The South West has the highest coronavirus R-rate in the UK
Charlotte Becquart www.cornwalllive.com
An ‘R’ number for each region in the UK has been revealed for the first time – and the South West has the highest.
The number, also known as ‘reproduction rate’, represents the coronavirus infection rate. If it goes above 1, new restrictions and tougher social distancing measures could be needed.
The South West is estimated to have the highest infection rate with 0.9. The North East and East Midlands are thought to have the next highest, followed by the North West.
However it is thought to be the highest because of a recent rise in cases in the Bristol and Weston-super-Mare areas. The South West region includes an area as far as Gloucestershire. Devon and Cornwall has had just 13 new cases of coronavirus from lab-confirmed tests in the last seven days.
All regions were deemed to have infection rates “decreasing” or “likely decreasing” apart from the South West.
Ministers had refused to publish a breakdown by region but Manchester Mayor Andy Burnam released them, the Mirror reports.
He tweeted: “Not a great deal of ‘room for manoeuvre’, as the Chief Scientific Adviser told the @10DowningStreet briefing.”
The data was compiled by the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Officially the UK as a whole has an R of between 0.7 and 0.9 but Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance has said a slight increase could be dangerous.
Burnham said lockdown restrictions are being eased too soon, as “the R number was still quite high”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think we have arrived at quite a dangerous moment.
“This is premature, this easing of the lockdown.
“Test and trace is not fully operational and it should be, in my view, before these steps are taken.”
Two members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) also spoke out about the issue, expressing concerns that easing lockdown measures from Monday could cause a spike in the spread of COVID-19.
Scientists Sir Jeremy Farrar and Professor John Edmunds said ministers were taking risks by following their current plans.
They expressed concern at allowing the gradual reopening of shops and schools and larger gatherings to meet in private while the number of new cases each day remains “relatively high”.
What a tangled web we weave when we practise to deceive!
Constituents bombard MPs with tens of thousands of emails over Dominic Cummings
Now for something different, or is it different – entitlement again?
Back to the Dominic Cummings saga.
The furore over Dominic Cummings’ breach of lockdown rules has prompted tens of thousands of people to flood their MPs’ inboxes in what some described as the biggest outpouring since Brexit, a Guardian analysis has found.
Jessica Murray www.theguardian.com
As Boris Johnson tried to draw a line under the crisis involving his chief adviser, constituents across the country sent missives to their MPs, with many sharing stories of their own lockdown hardships.
A Guardian analysis covering 117 MPs found they have received a total of 31,738 emails since a joint Guardian and Daily Mirror investigation a week ago divulged that Cummings had travelled to County Durham and taken a trip to a beauty spot with his family after suffering coronavirus symptoms.
If that level of correspondence was reflected across all 650 MPs, it would suggest the revelations may have sparked as many as 180,000 items of correspondence. The numbers were either provided in response to the Guardian’s request for figures, or in statements MPs had released to constituents.
Johnson has repeatedly suggested it was time to “move on” from the Cummings row, despite about half of Tory backbenchers – more than 100 MPs – calling for his most senior aide to resign or be sacked, or criticising Cummings. Many said they were motivated by their constituents’ anger.
On Friday evening Theresa May added her voice to the Tories criticising Cummings. In a statement to constituents of her Maidenhead seat, the former prime minister said she could “well understand the [public’s] anger” towards Johnson’s senior adviser.
“I do not feel that Mr Cummings followed the spirit of the guidance,” she said.
Several Conservative MPs in marginal seats said they had received more than 1,000 emails about Cummings, in some cases dwarfing their majority. While the average number of emails each MP got was 271, the Tory MPs analysed by the Guardian received 590 each on average.
Many MPs said the emails were from people writing to them for the first time and not the common copy-and-paste messages on a campaigning issue, and for some it has been the most significant volume since the Brexit crisis in parliament.
Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for North Thanet, who was among the first to say Cummings’ job was no longer tenable, said: “I’ve had between 700 and 800 emails, and half of those are constituents, half of those are from other people. About 85% are critical [of him], and 15% think I’m the devil incarnate.
“Not one has been computer-generated, they are all individual observations. This is not about Brexit, or a Labour party campaign, none of this is orchestrated.”
Richard Fuller, Tory MP for North East Bedfordshire, wrote to constituents: “I have been struck by just how many emails I have received from constituents about the actions taken by Mr Cummings and the strength of sentiment.
“Most emails contained strong criticisms. The words used by constituents to express their feeling – ‘disgust’, ‘incensed’, ‘disgraceful’, ‘shameful’, ‘anger’ – convey clearly how deeply hurtful this revelation has been for them.
“Many constituents included personal stories of sacrifice and loss; a number sharing the searing pain of bereavement in this extraordinary period of isolation and confinement. I have read fully each of the emails sent to me.”
He added: “The explanation of this human dilemma has not been communicated in such a manner as to heal the hurt that has been felt. An apology is not always needed as a concession that you did something wrong but sometimes to show that you understand the pain to others that may have been caused.”
Diana Johnson, Labour MP for Hull North since 2005, said: “Other than Brexit, this is the biggest postbag I’ve had for many years. And it’s still coming in.”
Polling suggests most people were unconvinced by Cummings’ explanation of his movements, delivered in a hastily arranged press conference in the Downing Street rose garden on Monday.
A YouGov poll taken afterwards showed 71% of respondents thought he had broken the rules; the row also appears to have dented the Conservatives’ poll lead over Keir Starmer’s Labour party.
Among the Conservatives receiving more than 1,000 emails about Cummings were Alex Chalk, MP for Cheltenham, who has a majority of 981; Stephen Hammond, MP for Wimbledon, whose majority is 628; and Andrew Bowie, the MP for West Aberdeenshire and and Kincardine, with a majority of 843.
Not all of the correspondence was negative, although many MPs said their mailbox was overwhelmingly weighted towards criticism of the adviser.
Stewart Wood, a Labour peer and Oxford University fellow teaching politics, said the crisis had touched a nerve akin to the MPs’ expenses revelations. “The real worry for government is when something that they do politicises people who normally wouldn’t ever write to their MP about something like this, who never really engage in politics,” he said.
“I worked for Gordon Brown for 10 years and the equivalent issue was the expenses crisis. In terms of the nerve it has touched and the kind of people who are responding, it feels a lot like [that].”
He added: “I think what’s happened is our daily lives are dominated by what’s coming out of No 10. So we’re hanging on the words of the prime minister and his top team in a way that you normally would never ever get, and that does bring politics into your life much more vividly. So people then inspect the credentials of the people doing that in a much greater way.
“The thing that makes this so poisonous for Boris Johnson and the top team is that we’re in this incredibly unusual crisis moment where everything the government does relies on our trust, because everything they do is essentially asking us to change our behaviour. And that requires faith in the integrity and the authority of the government.”
One Tory MP said they had received 400 emails, mostly against Cummings. In the Tory stronghold of the south-west, Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, was hit with 800 messages and Cherilyn Mackrory, of Truro and Falmouth, said she had received nearly 1,000.
Elliot Colburn, 27, the Conservative MP representing the marginal Carshalton and Wallington seat, wrote to Johnson to say he had received more emails on this issue than any other. He said “many hundreds of messages from concerned constituents” had called on Cummings to resign.
At the other end of the UK, the leader of the Scottish National party in Westminster, Ian Blackford, said he had received more than 1,000 emails. “At the peak I was getting one email a minute. It’s easily more than 1,000,” he said.
Labour’s Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, said she had had 117 emails, with “so many powerful stories of sacrifice”. One of her constituents wrote to say how her mother had died alone of Covid-19 in a London hospital on 8 April and “every instinct” in her body had told to go to be with her for her final moments, but she had abided by the government’s rules.
The Labour MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Neil Coyle, said he had received 227 emails, only one in support of Cummings. He said: “They are all unique and many are very sad as they explain their anger based on what they’ve been through – including missing relatives at the end of life.”
Chris Bryant, Labour MP for the Rhondda, said he had received 20 messages a day and has had a constituent tell him he now has no intention of abiding by the lockdown rules since Cummings’ drive to Durham and later to Barnard Castle.
Paul Arnott’s Leader speech on facebook – a new inclusive, forward looking, council
For those unaware (like old and new Owl!) that EDDC was streaming the extra extraordinary meeting live on facebook, because the YouTube link was still off, the link is given below.
It is reasonably short at around 20 minutes but compelling watching not only for Cllr Tom Wright’s apology for swearing and it its impact on the democratic process but, more importantly, for Paul Arnott’s Leader’s speech (starting at around 7.20 mins in).
He does not mince his words.
In saying that this new council will work with all of its 60 members, treated as equals, he adds this caveat:
“We wish to work with everyone for the benefit of East Devon, but if your interest is working with friends and allies outside the council then I’m afraid that your time is up.”
He also criticised Chairman Cllr Hughes for cancelling the Annual Meeting thereby necessitating five meetings to do what would have been done in just the one he cancelled.
‘Changing of the guard’ in East Devon as new adminstration take control
New Leader Paul Arnott adds more detail to the direction he will set for the new administration and outlines the roles of his Cabinet members. In particular the new Cabinet will now host three critical new roles to enable the council to tackle both the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis head-on.
Unfortunately the video streaming of the reconvened meeting held today is not available on YouTube. Followers will understand why.
Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com
A ‘changing of the guard’ has occurred in East Devon with a new progressive leadership having taken control of the council.
Cllr Paul Arnott, leader of the East Devon Alliance, was elected as the new leader of the council on Friday morning. It followed the resignation of the previous leader, Cllr Ben Ingham, last week.
He was elected by 32 votes to 20 over Conservative rival Cllr Andrew Moulding, with eight abstentions.
The meeting on Friday morning was reconvened after Thursday evening’s meeting was adjourned after the live stream crashed after Cllr Tom Wright was heard swearing. He apologised at the start of Friday’s meeting.
Cllr Arnott told the meeting that the new administration marks the start of a new approach to collaborative working and will bring stability and direction for the benefit of all its residents.
The Democratic Alliance group, who are the largest group on the council, formed a coalition with the seven members of the Independent Progressive group to form the administration with a total of 31 of the 60-strong council. The Democratic Alliance group is made up of councillors from the Independent East Devon Alliance, the Liberal Democrat Party, the Green Party and some independents.
Cllr Eileen Wragg, who has more than 20 years’ experience as a councillor, will be the deputy leader.
Cllr Arnott said that the new administration recognised the need for continuity during such uncertain times and three of the portfolio holders for the previous Cabinet have been reappointed.
He said that the hard work they have undertaken for the last 12 months and the knowledge and experience they bring with them will help the council smoothly transition into this fresh new approach.
He said: “It is essential that at this of all times East Devon has a stable majority leadership. It must also have a keen eye on the district’s future wellbeing when this troubling period comes to an eventual end. The electorate spoke hoping for a reformed and improved council last year and our aim is to deliver that with hard work and with pride in the wonderful place we are all fortunate to call home.
“Countrywide, the last decade or more has seen local councils put under increasing pressure financially, East Devon is no exception. The current pandemic further compounds this.
“East Devon District Council’s new administration is committed to a thorough assessment of the council’s current position in all areas, including finance, and is determined to lobby both central government and the districts MP’s to help us out of our financial shortfall so that we can continue to provide the best service to our residents, district-wide.
“We are looking forward to working with the staff as this must have been a really difficult last 18 months for them, but if you have a majority administration then gives them some secure sense of a direction for the council.
“The previous administration walked into the same practices that the conservatives had been doing for years and the business as usual approach, if I’m honest, was intellectually idle and the past [path] of least resistance, and everything I have learnt in this life is that if you take the easy option then it is often the wrong one.
“But this is the changing of the guard. It is like they tried to stop us and like going in front of the guards at Buckingham Palace and saying ‘you shall not pass’ and let a new legitimate administration come in, but we have got there in the end.”
Cllr Arnott added: “Life and economy at the moment are mothballed but it does look like getting back to some semblance of normality in the next few weeks and when that happens we can make judgements about what we can do across the district. But the first job is to lobby for funding to cover the financial gap that the district council will now suffer – will keep the pressure on and I actually believe that they will probably do that.
“The most important thing is not to panic. We have reserves saved up for a rainy day and if this is not a rainy day then I don’t know what is, and would be better to do that than anything that affects our day to day services
“We have to address how we respond to the coronavirus and the effect on the council’s finances. We are not certain yet how bad it is. The council gets a lot of revenue through car parks and when we were not charging it was creating a black hole, but now people using them and we are charging again. It will take a while to see the loss over the period of time and with a bit of luck may not be in as disastrous as a position as first thought.”
He announced that the new Cabinet will now host three critical new roles to enable the council to tackle both the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis head-on.
Cllr Jess Bailey is the new Cabinet portfolio holder for Corporate Services and Covid-19 Response & Recovery to ensure a consistent and pro-active approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, and Cllr Arnott said: “At this time of crisis, it is vital that operations across the council continue to be focussed and understood both during and after, so that as the period for recovery begins, the council emerges in the best shape and able to continue to serve East Devon effectively.”
Cllr Marianne Rixson has been appointed as the new Climate Action portfolio holder securing the council’s commitment to Climate Change, and Cllr Arnott said she will ensure that every action and strategy pursued by the council is compliant with its zero-emissions commitment and that climate is considered in the formation of all policy. Her assistant portfolio holder is Cllr Denise Bickley.
On climate change, Cllr Arnott added: “As we emerge from what has been a national crisis, you need to plan to come out with some positive outcomes and across Devon there is a will that the climate action agenda that was so strong last year remains so.
“That needs to borne in mind with the kind of homes we are building, the transport policies, the way in which we procure things, the way we preserve our old ecology, our AONBs and the relationship with the potential National Park with Dorset. All of these things are what people have had time to think about over recent months so we need to harness that enthusiasm to address the climate emergency, so there are some opportunities ahead.”
The new Democracy and Transparency portfolio holder is Cllr Paul Millar who will carry out the new administration’s commitment to overseeing the governance of the council to ensure that all 60 councillors are able to contribute fully. A full review of the constitution, member engagement, and external communications will be undertaken. Cllr Sarah Jackson will be the assistant portfolio holder.
Cllr Millar said: “I am delighted to return to the Cabinet at East Devon under this exciting new administration. In my post, the challenge is to improve the Council’s reputation with the public and improve the way we do business so the bad and thuggish behaviour evident last night is never repeated.
“On issues like the Exmouth seafront regeneration project, the principles of democracy and transparency have not been followed by East Devon District Council. There’ll be no more fait accomplis masquerading as open public consultations. The Democratic Alliance will be collaborative and true to its name and over the next three years, our strong and united team will empower the communities we represent and ensure voices that have been silent for far too long are finally heard.”
The Economy and Assets portfolio is Cllr Paul Hayward and his assistant portfolio holder is Cllr Geoff Pratt. Cllr Geoff Jung is the holder for the newly-named Coast, Country and Environment portfolio and his assistant portfolio holder is Cllr Eleanor Rylance.
The Finance portfolio holder is Cllr Jack Rowland and his assistant portfolio holder is Cllr John Loudoun. The Strategic Development portfolio is Cllr Dan Ledger and Sustainable Homes & Communities portfolio holder is Cllr Megan Armstrong.
A further meeting of the council will be held on June 8 to elect a chairman and vice-chairman of the council, while in the week commencing June 15, another meeting will be held to deal with the appointments of committee chairs and to other outside bodies.
Cllr Arnott added that once that meeting has taken place, he aims to have a packed schedule of meetings for the rest of June and July so the council can get to work.
Councillor apologises for swearing on live stream of meeting on YouTube
Cllr Tom Wright, the Conservative councillor who represents the Budleigh and Raleigh ward on East Devon District Council, apologised unreservedly for this language when the virtual meeting resumed on Friday morning.
(Cllr Tom Wright also was the councillor who proposed Cllr Andrew Moulding as Leader. Had he done his sums he wouldn’t have been in the least surprised at the outcome – Owl)
Daniel Clark www.sidmouthherald.co.uk
Councillors were electing a new leader of the council at Thursday night’s meeting and 57 of the 60 votes had been cast when the live Youtube stream of the proceedings abruptly ended.
The reconvened meeting on Friday morning saw Cllr Paul Arnott, leader of the Democratic Alliance, elected as the new council leader by 32 votes to 20, with eight abstentions.
But before the last three votes were counted, Cllr Wright began the meeting with an apology for his actions.
He said: “I apologise for bringing everybody here this morning and I wish to apologise unreservedly for my actions last evening. I must point out I was not directing abuse to any other councillor.
“I was expressing my personal disappointment as the result was unfolding and my microphone was on as I was semi-called to put my vote.
“I apologise to all councillors, officers and members of the public who were following the events on YouTube and for the harm it did to the democratic process and reputation of the council, not least the public’s view of the council and its councillors.
“I am also very aware of the extra work and strain this will have put on East Devon District Council staff and I apologise separately to them. I can say no more, I am truly sorry.”
Cllr Stuart Hughes, chairman of the council, added: “I would also like to sincerely apologise on behalf of East Devon District Council to members of the public who were watching yesterday and experienced this unfortunate incident.”
He began the meeting by adding: “I strongly reiterate the point for councillors to make sure all microphones are muted when you’re not speaking to avoid any background noise levels and ensure that you use appropriate language.”
East Devon elects new leader at second attempt after chaotic meeting
The new leader of East Devon District Council has been elected – at the second attempt – after the first livestreamed meeting ended abruptly shortly after a councillor was recorded swearing into his microphone.
Cllr Paul Arnott, leader of the Democratic Alliance, has now been voted into the top role on Friday morning, following the resignation last week of the previous leader of the council, Cllr Ben Ingham.
This article contains the list of the new cabinet.
Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com
The extraordinary full council meeting began on Thursday night but was adjourned midway through the initial vote to elect a new leader when the live stream of the meeting was removed from YouTube for violating its terms of service. This happened moments after one councillor was heard swearing in the background having not muted their microphone.
A message appeared on the screen saying that the video had been removed for violating Youtube’s terms of service. It happened moments after one of the councillors – believed to have been Cllr Tom Wright – was caught swearing on his microphone while the vote to elect the new leader was ongoing. It is unknown as to whether that was the reason why the video was removed from Youtube.
At the second attempt Cllr Arnott was voted in by 32 votes to 20, with eight abstentions, over Cllr Andrew Moulding, leader of the Conservative Group, who had also been nominated as a potential leadership candidate. The previous leader of the council, Cllr Ingham, had voted for Cllr Moulding.
The 60-strong council is now being run by an administration of 31 councillors from both the Democratic Alliance and the Independent Progressive Group.
The Democratic Alliance consists of the East Devon Alliance, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, and three Independents, while the IPG consists of seven Independent councillors.
Speaking on Friday morning at the extraordinary council meeting, Cllr Arnott, the East Devon Alliance leader, said: “In May 2019 the East Devon electorate sent a clear message to the council that after nearly five decades of Conservative dominance they wanted change. People voted to reduce what had been 45 Conservative councillors five years earlier to just 19.
“Despite the huge defeat, the new leadership went for a business as usual approach, and last month, this approach collapsed after the Conservatives pushed for a vote of no confidence in the leader and his own group split down the middle.
“The Democratic Alliance and the Independent Progressive Group now have a majority on the council and it gives it the stability it has lacked since Cllr Ingham attempted a council of no overall control.
“It is essential that at this of all times, East Devon has a stable majority leadership. It must also have a keen eye on the district’s future wellbeing when this troubling period comes to an end. The electorate spoke and hoped for a reformed and improved council last year and our aim is to deliver that now with hard work and pride in the wonderful place that we are fortunate to call home.
“We wish to work with everyone for the benefit of East Devon, but if your interest is working friends and allies outside the council then I’m afraid that your time is up.”
Cllr Arnott, in appointing his cabinet team, announced that three new roles would be created, with the corporate resources portfolio also looking at the recovery from COVID-19, a new climate change portfolio and a democracy and transparency portfolio created. Five assistant cabinet roles will also be created.
Nominating him, Cllr Eileen Wragg, said: “Paul is an excellent leader, a very good listener and is respectful of everyone on the council. He will fully consult with everyone on his cabinet and I fully support his nomination as leader. He will lead the council into a better place than it has been for the last year.”
The new cabinet consists of:
Cllr Paul Arnott – Leader of the council
Cllr Eileen Wragg – Deputy leader of the council
Cllr Jess Bailey – Corporate Resources and COVID recovery
Cllr Megan Armstrong- Sustainable homes and communities
Cllr Geoff Jung – Coast, countryside and environment
Cllr Marianne Rixson – Climate change
Cllr Dan Ledger – Strategic Planning
Cllr Jack Rowland – Finance
Cllr Paul Hayward – Economy and Assets
Cllr Paul Millar – Democracy and Transparency
Following last May’s elections, the Independent Group, led by Cllr Ingham, took control of the council, but held just 20 of the 60 seats and so ran the council as a minority administration. But following defections from ten of the group, last week Cllr Ingham resigned from his role as leader of the council and the remainder of the cabinet quit their roles.
In a Monitoring Officer’s (MO) office somewhere in the Universe.
So Councillor Tom/Dick/Harry (TDH), I seem to have 200 complaints here saying you brought the council into disrepute by swearing loudly in a public meeting and causing the meeting to end at a crucial point in the votes. What do you have to say for yourself?
TDH: wasn’t me.
MO: but it was obviously you.
TDH: no, it wasn’t. It was on Zoom and you couldn’t see my face, so you couldn’t see my lips move.
MO: but TDH, old boy, your voice is so distinctive …..
TDH: let me stop you there – it could have been anyone .. there is no proof ..
MO: well, I must say that’s a relief … I wasn’t looking forward to having to deal with that one mate …
TDH: no problem, old boy. Now I have a complaint of my own.
MO: oh yes? How can I help?
TDH: I distinctly heard at least 30 people sniggering when my pals were lauding our choice for Leader, and I identified all of them as being the Opposition, every single one of them, even though I couldn’t see anyone so I couldn’t see their lips move …
MO: now that’s more like it – that’s something I can really get my teeth into! See you at the usual place tonight?
EDDC Tories in denial. They have finally lost what they thought was theirs by right.
The overriding impression Owl got during last night’s “extraordinary” debates was the indignation shown by Conservative Councillors that they could lose power; that anyone else could possibly run EDDC.
Take Conservative Cllr. Stuart Hughes, Chairman, and his rambling introduction.
He said that initially he had agreed that there would be a full council meeting on June 18 to deal with the matters that would have been discussed at the annual meeting and that it would be up to the members of the council as to if they wished to hold a meeting to hold the meeting for the chairmanship and the leadership of the council.
This is being economical with the truth. He did not say or explain why he had cancelled the Annual meeting in the first place, although this became very clear during the debate.
What it boils down to is that Conservatives have a deep tribal sense of entitlement. For example:
Cllr Dean Barrow spoke against the need for the EGM to be held, saying that the pandemic had a significant impact on the council and that an experienced chairman to lead is needed, while Cllr Moulding added: “Residents would expect the council to be focusing on the response to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Cllr Alan Dent added: “It is vital that we have stable leadership and in Cllr Hughes we have someone with the experience and the link with County Hall. To replace him would jeopardise the recovery process and demean the work he has done. To change in the middle of the crisis could be a monumental mistake. This is not the time to hold an EGM.”
Cllr. Moulding said the public does not expect change. One Cllr. (Owl thinks it was also Moulding) said that having a meeting would deny Cllr Hughes his “second year as Chairman”. This was corrected by Vice Chairman Val Ranger who pointed out that constitutionally the posts of Chairman and Vice Chairman are voted annually (at the cancelled Annual meeting – Owl)
This was not the time to change, they argued, even though they had lost their majority in last year’s elections and now the coalition they had supported had also lost its majority.
Listening to him, and the proposers of Cllr Andrew Moulding for the post of Leader, one would be forgiven for thinking they had been in power this past year, rather than the junior partner of a losing coalition.
From their point of view, no one else could be trusted to run things during the epidemic. Owl would retort that in this regard Conservatives are no more experienced than anyone else. Owl has posted a number or articles critical of EDDC’s slowness to act.
On managing things, Conservatives have form and the voters have rejected it.
The argument for change is quite simple – it’s all about democracy. Ben Ingham’s coalition with the Conservatives had lost their majority.
The Council comfortably voted to have a meeting to select a new Chairman as Owl has reported.
Now to the even more extraordinary meeting to elect a new leader.
Two candidates were proposed:
Cllr Paul Arnott, nominated by Cllr Eillen Wragg and seconded by Cllr Paul Hayward.
Cllr Moulding, proposed by Cllr Tom Wright, seconded Cllr Helen Parr.
(Yes the same Helen Parr Owl featured the other day as the councillor who morphed from “Independent” to “Build, build, build” Conservative).
With 57 of the 60 cast, Cllr Arnott had received 31 votes, with 18 for Cllr Moulding and eight abstentions. Three councillors had yet to vote when the stream crashed.
The disgraceful swearing which appears to have caused youtube to pull the plug included Cllr. Tom Wright, one time Chief Superintendent,. (Owl has had a number of confirmatory reports of this – his voice is quite distinctive). The proposer of the losing candidate, Cllr Moulding.
As one correspondent put it: “When you think the Tories have taken us to a new low…. they manage to dig even deeper…”
The conclusion Owl draws is that the Tories are in denial. How can anyone take their power away!.
The other arresting development was when Cllr Ben Ingham came out of the closet and voted for Cllr Moulding to replace him as Leader. How can an “Independent” vote for a Conservative Leader?
Not surprising to find a number of his “Independent” group not voting the same way as him (the cause of the swearing).
Explanatory footnote added 29 May
Owl has been asked to clarify who is who in this political saga which is obviously creating interest beyond East Devon. Very briefly, since its creation the East Devon District Council has been in the hands of the Conservative party. At last year’s council election the conservatives lost their majority. The remaining councillors were split between two Independent groups: the East Devon Alliance, led by Paul Arnott and the Independent Group led by Ben Ingham; and the Libdems and Green parties. Ben Ingham had been the official leader of the opposition prior to the election. After a frantic weekend of negotiation, Ben Ingham declared that he had formed a coalition with his group of Independents and the Conservatives rather than with either the Lidems or East Devon Alliance. The clear message from the electorate was that they wanted change but many thought that this coalition simply brought more of the same. Over the past year a number of the original Ben Ingham Independent group have defected resulting in him losing his majority followed just recently by his resignation. A new coalition then formed between the remainder of Councillors and this coalition, having a narrow majority, has now taken control.
All the councillors named above are Conservatives apart from Paul Arnott and Ben Ingham who’s roles are explained above, the Vice Chairman Val Ranger who is East Devon Alliance and Paul Arnott’s proposed and seconder who were Libdem and East Devon Alliance respectively.
Council meeting to elect leader ends abruptly as councillor is heard swearing
Conservative Cllr Tom Wright, one time Chief Superintendent, is named as the councillor whose swearing is thought to have been the one caught swearing during the meeting.
It has now been confirmed that Cllr Arnott has been elected as the leader of the council, with his appointment set to be ratified at the resumed meeting at 11am on Friday.
Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com
East Devon District Council remains leaderless after the meeting to elect a new leader was adjourned due to ‘technical difficulties’.
Cllr Paul Arnott, leader of the East Devon Alliance, was on the verge of being elected as the council’s new leader when the live stream of the meeting, which was being broadcast on Youtube, abruptly crashed.
A message appeared on the screen saying that the video had been removed for violating Youtube’s terms of service.
It came moments after one of the councillors – believed to have been Cllr Tom Wright – was caught swearing on his microphone while the vote to elect the new leader was ongoing. It is unknown as to whether that was the reason why the video was removed from Youtube.
Councillors had been voting as to whether they wanted Cllr Arnott or Cllr Andrew Moulding, leader of the Conservative group, to become the new leader of the council following the resignation of Cllr Ben Ingham from the position last Monday.
With 57 of the 60 cast, Cllr Arnott had received 31 votes, with 18 for Cllr Moulding and eight abstentions. Three councillors had yet to vote when the stream crashed.
Cllr Ingham, the former leader of the council, had cast his vote in favour of Cllr Moulding, while the eight other members of the Independent group who were previously in charge of the council who had the chance to vote had abstained.
The item on the agenda – which was to elect a new Leader for the remainder of the civic year and that Council receive the Leader’s appointments of the Deputy Leader and the Cabinet and their Portfolios – had not been completed by the time that the technical difficulties struck.
An East Devon District Council spokesman said: “Unfortunately the Extraordinary meeting of council has been adjourned due to technical difficulties. We will keep you informed as to when it can be resumed which will be at the earliest opportunity.”
They added that they were unsure as to whether the meeting would be resumed later this evening or at a later date, but at the start of the meeting, Cllr Stuart Hughes, chairman of the council, said that in the event of a break in connection for which they were unable to reconnect within 15 minutes, the meeting will be adjourned and reconvened at a later date.
It has now been confirmed that Cllr Arnott has been elected as the leader of the council, with his appointment set to be ratified at the resumed meeting at 11am on Friday.
It was the second of two extraordinary meetings held on Thursday night by the council, with the first seeing councillors vote by 37 votes to 22 to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on June 8 at 6pm to elect the positions of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council.
Cllr Stuart Hughes, the chairman of the council, said that initially he had agreed that there would be a full council meeting on June 18 to deal with the matters that would have been discussed at the annual meeting and that it would be up to the members of the council as to if they wished to hold a meeting to hold the meeting for the chairmanship and the leadership of the council.
He said: “I am still of the view that the membership should decide if they want to elect a new chairman and that is what this meeting is about.”
Cllr Dean Barrow spoke against the need for the EGM to be held, saying that the pandemic had a significant impact on the council and that an experienced chairman to lead is needed, while Cllr Moulding added: “Residents would expect the council to be focusing on the response to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Cllr Alan Dent added: “It is vital that we have stable leadership and in Cllr Hughes we have someone with the experience and the link with County Hall. To replace him would jeopardise the recovery process and demean the work he has done. To change in the middle of the crisis could be a monumental mistake. This is not the time to hold an EGM.”
But Cllr John Loudoun said that ‘democracy must continue regardless’.
He added: “We normally have annual elections and we should be continuing with that,” and Cllr Eileen Wragg added that with Cllr Hughes having a lot on his plate with his cabinet role on Devon County Council, ‘maybe it is time for someone else to have a go’.
Is this the reason why the EDDC meeting crashed? Conservatives swearing?
As one comment has already observed:
“Was an interesting meeting until it crashed. However shows how democracy in EDDC works when you listen to the comments from councillors, during the vote, who had forgotten to mute their microphones.”
Another has pointed out
“Chaos… thanks to Conservative swearing, YouTube’s Terms of Service were violated. Thereafter, once the feed was cut, the meeting was no longer lawful…
When you think the Tories have taken us to a new low…. they manage to dig even deeper…”
Owl heard the swearing when an unexpected (to the Conservative cause) abstention was announced and also, regrettably, when Paul Arnott was nominated.
At least one of the voices was identifiable, he should be ashamed of himself. This behaviour needs to go to the standards committee PDQ.
The previous vote to have a vote shows that the Conservatives have lost it.
Post updated at 20:56
Owl hopes that the remaining votes can be ratified as a matter of urgency so a new administration can get to work, rather than re-run the meeting.
Owl now understands that the remaining votes are to be ratified at a meeting at 1100 tomorrow after which the new Leader will announce his deputy and the Cabinet
Breaking News – EDDC meeting to elect new leader crashed
Two proposed for Leader: Cllr Paul Arnott and Cllr Andrew Moulding
When the site crashed the situation seemed to be:
Arnott 30
Moulding 18
Abstainers 8
With four left to vote
Breaking News: Setback for Cllr Stuart Hughes’ attempt to remain Chairman of EDDC
After Cllr. Stuart Hughes, Chairman EDDC, cancelled the Annual Meeting due to be held this month, the full council has just decided to hold an election for the positions of Chairman and Vice Chairman on Monday week by passing the motion. below 37 votes to 23.
Constitutionally, EDDC must elect its Chairman each year. Cllr Stuart’s argument for cancelling the Annual meeting, when this election takes place, was that there should be no change during the pandemic.
Motion: to determine whether to hold a meeting to elect positions
‘Should the Council hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 8th June 2020 at
6pm to elect the positions of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council.’
Are we past the peak of the Crisis?
Morten Morland Times cartoon: May 28 2020
Contact tracing begins again but system is weeks away from being “world-class”
From today, an unexpected phone call from a new number may be more than just a nuisance. The UK’s test and trace system has launched and will ask those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 to self-isolate for 14 days.
Owl’s view is that it has been launched prematurely so as to distract from Dominic Cummings. Boris is playing dangerous games.
By Daniel Capurro, Telegraph Front Bench Editor
The news was announced by Boris Johnson during his appearance in front of the Commons Liaison Committee, at which he also faced a grilling over the Dominic Cummings affair.
Laura Donnelly, our health editor, explains the full details of the system and how it will work here. For now, the crucial question is: how ready is it?
The woman in charge of the scheme, Baroness Dido Harding, admitted yesterday that it would be some weeks before the system is “world-class” but claimed that it would get “better and better” as we head towards the autumn.
– Civic duty doesn’t put food on the table –
There’s always the possibility of the unexpected, but at the moment the doubts surround several key issues.
The first is that the system is voluntary. While Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, and Johnson have both warned that they will make quarantining compulsory if necessary, that could prove incredibly difficult to enforce for potentially hundreds of thousands of people at a time. Fines could go some way to maintaining compliance, but ultimately it will come down to individuals.
The Government is clearly trying to frame self-isolating as a civic duty, but as with lockdown, the reality is that it will only be as effective as the systems in place to support those who need to self-isolate. The need to go into quarantine will be sudden and immediate and it’s entirely plausible that it could cover the majority of someone’s social and support network.
In those circumstances, how does someone pick up their children from school or get food for a fortnight? And will their employer be supportive of their need to quarantine?
– A big dose of trust –
The UK is also not going down the route of some Asian countries of having quarantine centres where those who test positive must stay. That is seen in government as incompatible with British culture and personal freedoms. But for anyone not living in a large home, it means they are likely to infect their family members too.
Another big hurdle the system faces is trust. If you are contacted and told to self-isolate, you will get tested for the virus. But even if you test negative, you will still have to complete the full fortnight of isolation because those who are yet to display symptoms may test negative falsely. That is going to be a hard message to get across.
The biggest fear, alongside compliance, is that the system simply won’t be fast enough. For one, Britain doesn’t yet have enough rapid testing capacity, meaning people could be left waiting several days for a result. But also, the NHS’ contact tracing app is not yet launched. While the app is only an aid, without it contact tracers can only work so fast.
– South Korea lite –
And again, the Government’s reluctance to embrace East Asian-style systems because of (legitimate) civil liberties concerns will make the system less efficient. In South Korea, contact tracers have access to CCTV, credit card transactions and GPS data.
That will slow the work of contact tracers, but it will also increase the reliance on the British public to be honest. There has been much focus on the potential for malicious use of the system, but perhaps the bigger risk is that people are reluctant to admit to all their contacts for fear of costing their friends and family employment.
Again, the support will need to be in place to make sure that no one is having to make an undue sacrifice by self-isolating.
– Still a big moment –
It’s not impossible to make such a system work without going into full surveillance state mode. Germany, for example, has been successful so far with a system far closer to Britain’s. But clearly there are issues, seen and unforeseen, that will need fixing on the fly.
Yet for all the potential problems, the significance of this moment should not be lost. Today, the Government will officially review the UK’s lockdown and its coronavirus alert level, which Johnson is believed to be planning to reduce to level three.
The test and trace system, should it hold together, is what will enable the country to move from a crushing national lockdown to relative freedom for the majority, and only short-term lockdown for a specific few.
‘Things have to change’: tourism businesses look to a greener future
No planes in the sky, empty hotels and deserted attractions: with the world at a standstill, tourism has been one of the industries worst-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. International arrivals this year could be down by 80% compared with 2019, according to the World Tourism Organization, and more than 100 million jobs are under threat.
Jane Dunford www.theguardian.com
But as destinations slowly start to emerge from lockdown and borders tentatively reopen, many in the sector are wondering if this is a chance for tourism to rebuild in a greener, more sustainable way.
“Of course, it’s completely devastating – but it’s also provided a much-needed chance for introspection,” said Sam Bruce of Much Better Adventures, who is a co-founder of campaigning group Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency. “Things needed to change. It’s an opportunity for everyone from tourist boards to tour operators to reset and to look at how things can be better – for the planet, for local communities and for travellers.”
In Venice – one of the most overtouristed cities, with an estimated 25 million foreign visitors a year – officials are using the pause to rethink “an entire Venice system”, with sustainability and quality tourism at its core, said Paola Mar, the city’s councillor for tourism. Part of the plan is to lure locals back to live permanently in the city. The mayor is in discussions with universities, aiming to offer tourist rentals to students, and old buildings are being restored for social housing. Measures to control visitor numbers – including a tax on day trippers, which was due to be introduced in July – will go ahead next year, while the debate around cruise ships continues.
“Our goal is to trigger a renaissance of the city,” said Mar. “We want to attract visitors for longer stays and encourage a ‘slower’ type of tourism. Things can’t go back to how they were.”
City authorities in Amsterdam – which was struggling to cope with an estimated 18.3 million overnight tourist stays in 2019 – are also quietly hopeful that the pandemic will be a catalyst for change. Last week the mayor urged extreme caution in reopening to tourists, while nonprofit group Amsterdam&Partners believes the tourist hiatus pushes to the top of the agenda plans to cut numbers, give Amsterdam back to locals and attract the “right” kind of visitor, and has launched a sustainability taskforce to map the way forward.
“We are working with partners to discuss how we can restart in a more sustainable and responsible way,” said Amsterdam&Partners spokeswoman Heleen Jansen. “The main focus is that we want a sustainable visitor economy that doesn’t harm the livability of our city. If you have the right balance between living, working and visiting, you can have the right visitor economy. That’s what went wrong in the last years in the old city centre, and we have to entice locals to discover their city centre again.”
Meanwhile, the suddenly empty streets of Barcelona have made local businesses and the tourist board re-evaluate their priorities too. “While we couldn’t continue at the speed things were, this is showing us that no tourists is no good either – there needs to be a more moderate way,” said Mateo Asensioof the Barcelona tourist board. “Our first task is getting locals back out into the city, then the domestic market and our neighbours. When the international market returns, we’ll focus more on specific sectors. It’s an opportunity to change the rules.”
With the world’s “new normal” including social distancing, an increased fear of crowds and busy places – and the future of airlines in the balance – over-tourism may not be a pressing issue for some time.
Other changes in cities around the world include reshaping in favour of cyclists and pedestrians: Athens is accelerating plans for a car-free historic centre, Berlin is introducing 14 miles of new bike lanes, and Paris is also significantly increasing its bike lanes, to ease potential overcrowding.
Destinations likely to see the first surge in visitor numbers are remote coastal and rural areas, places seen as “safe”, said Patricia Yates, acting CEO of Visit Britain/Visit England. It will be longer before cities bounce back.
“Our weekly consumer sentiment surveys show that the domestic market is very nervous – so we will be focusing initially on reassurance,” she said. “But beyond that we will be looking at promoting areas outside the honeypots. What is needed is destination management to rebuild tourism more slowly and keep residents, visitors and businesses that depend on tourists happy – it’s quite a balancing act.”
Some of the progress made on sustainable tourism is likely to go into reverse at first, she added – with people eschewing public transport in favour of car travel and infection control measures leading to more single-use plastic.
Many tour operators, however, believe the pandemic could engender a positive change in client behaviour. Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton said: “During this hibernation period we’ve seen the benefit to nature and the climate – fish spotted in Venice’s clearer canal water, the Himalayas visible in India – and people have had time to reflect. I think customers will be more aware of the impact of travel on the environment and the communities they visit, and make more considered choices.”
A renewed focus on slower travel, including train journeys and cycling, as well as keeping experiences as local as possible and offering more off-season departures are part of Intrepid’s post-Covid plans, with wilderness and wellness trips tipped to be of most interest.
Launching new adventures in even more remote destinations to assist with economic recovery is on the agenda for Much Better Adventures when tourism opens up again. “The crisis has shown just how much communities in less-developed parts of the world rely on tourism,” said Sam Bruce. “We will look to spread tourism to areas that would genuinely benefit. But it has to be done in the right way. We risk a flood to remote places that aren’t prepared and could be taken advantage of.
“I’m hopeful that a new, slower tourism will emerge – but the recovery needs to be slow enough for the industry to make the right decisions as it rises from the ashes.”
G Adventures founder Bruce Poon – who has just published Unlearn: The Year the Earth Stood Still, an e-book looking at the impact of the pandemic on tourism – believes the industry can emerge as a stronger force for good.
“People will travel again. We don’t yet know when, but we know that they will. I want to challenge everyone who travels to ‘unlearn’ what they think they know. We have the opportunity to use this reset to be more conscious about how we can improve, as individuals and as a wider travel community.”
The biggest issue in the move to a more sustainable tourist industry, though, is air travel – aviation accounted for 2% of global carbon emissions in 2019 and was one of the fastest-growing polluters. With airlines grounded, emissions from aviation declined by about 60% in early April compared with 2019, according to the journal Nature Climate Change.
With the pause likely to be temporary, campaigners from Greenpeace to Flight Free are demanding that airline bailouts come with strict conditions on their future climate impact and say Covid should be the catalyst for greening the world’s airlines.
But in a race for economic recovery, rebuilding the industry quickly could sideline climate change and aviation issues, said Justin Francis of Responsible Travel, who is calling for a “green flying duty”, with more regulation and tax revenues invested in renewable fuels.
The cost of flights is likely to rise in the long term, he added. “Short term, the where and how we travel has had to change. But new, more entrenched, norms could form from that. Many people were hooked on frequent short breaks, but key to more sustainable tourism is taking far fewer flights – we may now see a return to longer, less frequent holidays, with more time spent getting to know a place, and a rise in slower forms of travel.”
Whatever happens, it’s unlikely travel will ever be the same as in pre-Covid days. An industry known for its resilience will find a new way forward, adapting to an unknown global market, but whether sustainability can be at the heart of a new model of tourism is hard to predict.
“Tourism will be smaller, and so more sustainable per se. Fewer flights means less C02, fewer guests means less waste, and there will be much more focus on localism, at least initially,” said Graham Miller, professor of sustainability in business at the University of Surrey.
“How the nature of the product changes, however, remains to be seen. There are huge vested interests to contend with – like the cruise industry in Venice and big businesses – but it feels like the moment we have been waiting for. If we are going to redesign tourism, this is about the best chance we can wish for.”
East Devon Watch 