What a horrible way for us to go into Christmas – the news that a new variant of the wretched coronavirus is 70% more transmissible, necessitating the urgent action we have seen for London and the South East and the truncating of all of our Christmas plans.
I have long been of the view that a trade deal between the UK and the EU would be agreed at five to midnight. We are now at 11.30pm and the chances of a deal are slipping away.
So, we are in Tier 2. It was not what I wanted but given that only Cornwall and the Isle of Wight are in Tier 1, I will reluctantly accept it and vote for it next week. Obviously this will protect our local hospitals.
The good news is we are now halfway through this national lockdown. I hope that when we reach December 2nd, we can revert to tier one level of restrictions here in the South West, or something close to it, enabling all shops to open and restaurants for food and drink.
Global politics were far from my mind in 1976 when Jimmy Carter became President of the USA and, what could then legitimately be called, the leader of the free world.
I freely admit that the government have made a Horlicks over the handling of the debate last week over free school meals, following which all Conservative MPs have skilfully been made out to be monsters by the Labour Party and many on social media.
It is not often that a regional approach benefits the South West. Under governments of all colours we tend to feel we are the poor relation and can get left behind.
I learned twenty five years or so ago that it is impossible to please all of the people all of the time. I was opening my post on a Saturday (no emails then). First a letter from a constituency vet: do not allow the docking of dog tails!
Today I had a question at Prime Minister's Questions.
I took the opportunity to seek his support for a significant off-shore wind project in the Celtic Sea which will have positive implications for the far South West and also to the country's push to tackle climate change.
