The MHRA has formally authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 and the NHS stands ready to start vaccinating early next week.
The UK is the first country in the world to have a clinically-approved vaccine for supply.
Leaving the European Union has also given Britain the opportunity to license the vaccine ourselves and get it rolled out quicker.
This week, although Parliament voted on a new tier system, it became almost irrelevant as Labour decided to abstain and not vote.
Again, they have decided to dodge the issue and sit on the fence.
A defeat would have meant no restrictions at all and the possibility of having to bring in even tougher measures by using emergency powers.
I have long been opposed to having any more restrictions placed on us in Bassetlaw beyond what is necessary, and I opposed us originally going into tier two with the rest of Nottinghamshire when the old system was introduced.
After this, I successfully argued for us to be kept in tier two and out of tier three with the rest of north Nottinghamshire, although this was unfortunately changed shortly afterwards due to rising rates.
I was then critical of the local decision to go ahead with what I called ‘tier three-plus’ restrictions, which meant businesses like beauty salons had to close in Bassetlaw, whereas they didn’t in other tier three areas.
I couldn’t accept us going back to those restrictions and I wrote to the Prime Minister to express my thoughts on how some restrictions needed a rethink.
I am grateful that the Prime Minister has shown flexibility and the new tier three is very different from the one we experienced previously.
For example, non- essential retail, the beauty industry, gyms, places of worship and outdoor sport can all open up again.
There will be regular reviews of the tier system and as Nottinghamshire’s rate is now on the way down, I’m very confident that we have a good chance of moving to tier two when the next review comes up on December 16 as Nottinghamshire now has one of the lowest rates in tier three.
There will also be a ‘sunset clause’, meaning these restrictions will all end by February 3 and we are now in the process of rolling out vaccines.
I am pleased to hear that there will be some extra help for the hospitality industry, but I still believe that more could be done however, and I am continuing to lobby for further support.
Whatever restrictions are introduced, it is a difficult balance between keeping people safe and the wider needs of society and protecting the economy and jobs.
This left me with a very difficult choice and whilst I would not have been able to support going back to previous restrictions or extending lockdown, I believe that the changes that have been made, as well as the reassurances on moving forwards, and changing tiers, are reasonable.
