2020 was a year many will wish to forget. It is also a year which will stick in the memory.
For some it will be painful memories of sickness and death.
For others it will be harrowing memories of lost business, squeezed incomes or a lost job as the economy struggled with the measures taken to stop the disease.
Many people will remember cancelled holidays, delayed weddings or parties, frustrations over how many of life’s normal pleasures were curtailed by the need to enforce social distancing.
There will be some with better recollections.
Families have learned to talk to each other by video link, more families have spent time at home together developing shared interests and pastimes, and some have benefited from the flexibility that home working can bring.
I will long remember the huge acceleration in cases and queries, as government took over so many parts of people’s lives.
Naturally, they wanted answers, wanted changes or just wanted to express their view of what should be done.
We all want 2021 to be more like the world we temporarily lost. We look forward to early full reopening of hospitality, entertainment and sport for the many.
We want to see small business recover, the self-employed have a full workload again, our shops with more customers and jobs restored.
I have been working away to get prudent relaxations so more can earn their living whilst taking sensible precautions against the virus.
The rapid take-up of vaccines as people who want it get access to it should allow relaxations to progress.
Further improvements in the way the disease is treated would also help. Above all we wish to see success in taming this pandemic, to relieve pressure on health care and reduce fear amongst the vulnerable.
There are reasons for cautious optimism as we enter the new year.
Most economists expect a strong recovery in jobs and incomes, and this time I think they are right.
Most medics and epidemiologists expect to see a downturn in the disease by the spring if not before.
I have been pleased to see some life and custom return to Wokingham town centre in the run-up to Christmas, and to hear some better news from various local businesses.
I want to help the government move on from reacting to Covid-19, to an exciting agenda of levelling up. To me that means government supporting everyone to go on their personal journey.
It may mean new training or education, a move to a better paid job.
It may mean establishing their own business or working for themselves, it may mean people with some savings making new investments and taking a new turning.
It may mean more people owning their own home, building some savings and earning their way to a better lifestyle with more choices.
It may mean for the retired taking up new interests or gaining new skills.
The New Year is a time for resolutions. It is a time to take stock and to ask if you want a new direction.
I wish you all every success with choosing. If you want a better life it may there for the having, especially as we recover from the miseries of lockdown.
Wokingham MP Sir John Redwood
