SO the Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland is so bored that she has made a video on her social media platform telling us just how bored she is (Echo, Apr 17).

Can I suggest that one way to beat her boredom would be to do her job and hold the Government to account for the very disturbing position we are in. To help her, here are a few questions she could be asking:

  • Why have Ministers refused to appear on Channel 4 news for 8 days in a row?
  • Why Is it OK for the Prime Minister, his father and the local government secretary to use second homes but not the rest of us?
  • Why has Michael Gove’s family been tested for the virus while the vast majority of front line workers haven’t?
  • Why was this country so unprepared for a pandemic when as far back as George W Bush’ presidency it was accepted that a pandemic was long overdue?
  • Why did her Government ignore warnings from Bill Gates in a similar vein?
  • Why did they ignore the outcome of the dry run test carried out in 2016 to check on our level of preparedness?
  • When will all frontline workers be given all the correct safety equipment they need?
  • When will frontline workers be able to fully access a workable testing regime?
  • And, looking ahead, will she pledge - and get her Government to do likewise - that the underfunding of all public services in this country and undervaluing of the great people providing those services will never again be part of Government policy?

Dehenna Davison is in a very privileged position. Unlike the electorate or the media we can’t force ministers to answer genuinely worrying questions, but she has the capacity to do so.

At the lowest level, if nothing else, it would ease her boredom.

Dave Anderson, Middleton-in-Teesdale