At last night’s Full Council Meeting, Cllr Mark Prenter shared his own personal story of how much his family sacrificed to abide by Coronavirus rules while he lost his Grandmother. His experience stands in clear contrast to the selfish and hypocritical actions of the Prime Minister during the same period. His powerful address at Medway’s Full Council meeting can be watched here.

Commenting on the speech made by Cllr Prenter, Leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group Vince Maple said:

“It is quite clear that the people of Medway have lost confidence in Boris Johnson who partied and misled parliament whilst so many others followed the rules. I’m grateful to Mark Prenter to be willing to share his personal story, one that so many families across Medway will tragically recognise.  It is in the best interests of Medway for the Prime Minister to resign and I call again on the Conservative Group Leader and our Conservative MP’s to join me in that call for Boris Johnson to step down.”

Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of the Medway Labour and Co-operative Group added:

“Last night we heard the Medway Conservatives refuse to condemn Boris Johnson’s actions even when they were reminded that over 800 people had died from Coronavirus in Medway.

“They are putting politics over people and completely fail to empathise with how those families who have lost loved ones, missed important life events and endured loneliness through the lockdowns really feel about the arrogant Downing Street culture.

“The Tories don’t have the humility to either apologise or show their loyalty to people in Medway by asking the Prime Minister to resign.”

Notes

Below is a written extract of Cllr Prenter’s words at Full Council last night:

In April, she was then put in a nursing home, which was only 200 yards away from my house. We couldn’t see her in that care home because we followed the rules, she wasn’t in a downstairs room, so I couldn’t see her. After six days I received a phone call from the nursing staff who told me my Gran was actually very ill. I spoke to my Gran through a mobile phone, she did not respond. I hope that she could have heard me. Remember – this was only 200 yards from my house, so normally I would have rushed to that care home, sat with her and held her hand as she left this world. Sadly 15 minutes later the nursing staff phoned me and told me that my Gran had passed. We then had her funeral in May. I think the rules were 12 at the time. She was a great-grandmother with 23 great nieces, nephews, grandchildren. Only 7 could attend. We could have had more but we made the call, as how could you decide between which niece and nephew could go to that funeral? It was me, my wife and my children with my brother, his partner and his daughter, her great-grandchild. We sat at different ends of the crematorium as we followed the rules. As we left, usually in our society we have a meet-up. A drink sometimes, a gathering, a wake, and it’s part of our closure. We had a conversation in the car park by a car because we followed the rules. And with hindsight, I wish we’d gone back to our house, gone in my back gate, and had a drink up in my garden instead. But I didn’t, because I followed the rules. Now I am just one Medway resident, how many of our Medway residents followed the rules while others partied and enjoyed themselves? I feel lost, I feel bereft, and I feel I’ve missed part of the process of what happens in my families’ process in life, and I’m disgusted by it.