Southport MP comments on the ending of Covid regulations

On Thursday, all remaining domestic Covid regulations will end. After two years of what I know have been some extremely difficult and, for far too many, tragic times, it is comforting that we can finally say goodbye to the painful Covid restrictions.

I remember well taking the weighty decision to vote in favour of the unprecedented Coronavirus Act in March 2020, which enabled many of the restrictions that we have lived under to come into effect. That was not an easy decision, and one of the hardest votes I have ever cast, but we had to take the necessary steps to protect the NHS and save lives.

The Prime Minister had always been clear that the restrictions would not last a day longer than necessary. The restrictions posed a heavy toll on our economy and society, and after spending hundreds of billions supporting individuals and businesses, and the success of our world-leading vaccine rollout, we now learn to live with Covid.

So, as I sat in the Chamber on Tuesday and heard the Prime Minister announce that we could finally remove these restrictions, I much confess that it was a poignant moment.

However, this is also a moment to celebrate. Thanks to our world-leading vaccine rollout, we are now able to bring our response to Covid more in line with that to other viruses, and to allow the country to get back to normal.

I am so proud that we were the first country in the world to authorise the use of the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, as well as the first European country to vaccinate 50% of our population.

But the real heroes are those who went out there and got their Covid jabs. You have protected not only yourself, but also your friends, your family, and our local community here in Southport. By getting your jabs, you have played a crucial role in enabling us to get back to normal.

With the large majority of our population now vaccinated, we are able to bring in positive changes such as ending the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test result from 1st April. As with other illnesses such as flu, we are rightly giving the decision to isolate to individual people and businesses, and removing harmful Government regulation.

We are also preserving free Covid tests for those who need them most as we evolve our free testing capacity to adapt with the times.

We also recognise that Covid may continue to mutate, and while of course we all hope that the variants get less severe, we will also rightly be offering all adults aged over 75, all residents in adult care homes, and all over-12s who are immunosuppressed an additional Covid jab, should they wish.

Ultimately, we’ve got to look forward with positivity. We took unprecedented action to protect jobs, save lives, and ensure our NHS wasn’t overwhelmed.

Individuals across Southport acted heroically by staying at home, looking after neighbours, and metaphorically rallying together to protect the community. This week’s excellent news is thanks to you, and for that, we should all be proud