At the time of writing I am hopeful that most of the restrictions on our lives due to Covid will be lifted in the coming week. As reported in Southern Africa, the Omicron variant of the virus has risen and fallen with dramatic speed and the relativel low numbers of serious ill and hospitalised in this country reflect that as well as the effectiveness of the vaccine programme. Having pressed the Government not to ramp up measures over December I am obviously pleased that the data reflects what a lot of virus experts said, in that as time goes on variants may spread more readily but with less serious outcomes.
The battle in the coming months is going to be to see that the recovery is as strong as it can be and that no one is left behind. Signs are encouraging for the former, with us leading the G7 in terms of economic uplift but the Government needs to focus on ways to try to ensure fuel prices and inflation don't get too difficult for people, especially the less well-off, and this does not look easy as globally supply chains are coming under further pressure.
I will continue to oppose broad and permanent tax rises. The pandemic has raised our debt but reforms that ease the supply of goods and services and allow more growth in tax revenue are a better way. Pledges that raise public spending including net-zero ambitions also need to be seriously scrutinised at this time to see if they can really justify the price tag.
Locally I am working with Yeovil College and others to try to maximise skills training and opportunities that can propel our young adults into great careers and I am looking forward to being at the College today. Companies like Leonardo play a great role in that and are a fantastic example of how investing in young people brings rewards all round. Beyond our engineering heritage there are other areas too that we can really do well in and I am working to make sure our food and drink produce, for example, is well covered in the trade deals currently being negotiated. The potential deal with India couldbe hugely important to some of our manufacturers and technology exporters.
There have been a few accidents on our local roads recently and thoughts are with those involved and injured. I am in touch with the Police about them and there seems to be no real pattern but it has been very dark and frosty so I would encourage all drivers just to be a little bit more cautious even when using routes you know well. Our road upgrades will make them safer and less prone to congestion but let’s all be careful especially at night.
Finally I am still in touch with the County Council about its report on flooding issues in Chard and Ilminster and hope to see the results of their work very shortly. I will do what I can to make sure a holistic approach is taken to the implementation of recommendations and seek central Government support if that is needed.