When the bells of Big Ben chime at midnight on 31st December, few will be sad to bid farewell to 2020. At the beginning of the year, none of us anticipated the difficult months that lay ahead. While we are certainly not out of the woods yet, there is now much to be positive about. Good progress is being made towards tackling Covid, and also in successfully implementing Brexit.
Today’s news that a second Covid-19 vaccine, developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, has been approved for use in the UK and will be administered in North Wales from next week, has provided the British people with the much needed hope that better times are ahead. We can all now confidently look forward to a return to normal life in the not too distant future.
And there are historic times ahead for the UK with the end of the transition period tomorrow (December 31st). Four and a half years ago, on June 23rd 2016, local people voted to leave the EU, and now the changes they wanted are finally to be implemented. On Christmas Eve it was announced that UK had secured a trade deal with the EU worth £660 billion, a deal which will protect jobs and drive prosperity in the Vale of Clwyd and across the country.
This deal, coupled with the UK Government’s “levelling up" agenda to reduce regional disparities in the country, gives residents of Denbighshire, and beyond, much to be optimistic about. As life returns closer to normal during the coming year, I look forward to helping to ensure a firm commitment to the infrastructure and green energy investments that our region needs.
My first year back as an MP has certainly been a challenging one, but I am pleased that my team and I have been able to help thousands during this time with problems and queries they have faced a result of the pandemic, as well as more general issues.
The first few months of 2021 will still be tough while the vaccines are being rolled out, but if we all pull together to keep the virus at bay, the brighter months ahead that we are all so desperate to see, can come sooner rather than later.
I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2021.
