‘Better days lie ahead’
PENNY MORDAUNT, MP for Portsmouth North
On Monday, we heard the long-awaited announcement about how lockdown will end and hopefully not return.
Locking down has been an ordeal – materially and emotionally. The vaccine programme has enabled us to fight the virus. That should give us hope, but we must still proceed with caution.
The priority has to be education. We have all made sacrifices in the last year, but none more so than children who have missed out on so much. We must get them back to school and support their teachers and support staff in the process.
I am pleased that there are new rules coming in to facilitate care home visits. Covid has separated so many families, with many residents suffering physical and mental deterioration as a consequence of their lack of contact. The roadmap outlines how the general population can also increase social contact.
I recognise that still a lot of uncertainty, and with that comes stress. It is vital that we are giving people and businesses as much notice as possible and I have sought assurance from the government that this will be the case for each sector. We need to ensure that this lockdown is the last we have to cope with, so it is vital that we all still follow the rules. We can all support firms who have done an incredible job over the last 12 months and keeping people in a job.
We also need to ensure that they have enough funding to see them through. The council still has funding available for businesses and I have been encouraging them to ‘get it out the door’. As we l approach the reopening of the economy we mustn’t fall at the last hurdle. This country has spent eye-watering amounts to help keep businesses through this crisis. If we manage that it will have been worth it, but to have done that and had those firms close in the final weeks of lockdown would be appalling.
Since last year, not a day has gone by without me marvelling at all we have coped with, sacrificed and given to others. You’ve been stoic and heroic. Let’s face the recovery with that same determination and support for each other. Better days lie ahead.