Resilience and remaining resolute

Leo McKinstry said the light of real hope was shining in the wintry gloom following the announcement of the rolling out of a vaccine.

“The inspiring announcement that Britain has become the world’s first nation to approve the use of an effective Covid vaccine is not only a giant leap for humanity but also a historic moment for national pride,” he said. “There have certainly been institutional failures, like the expensive testing regime, but those are counterbalanced by the British public’s resilience, stoicism and self-sacrifice.”

He said the spirit of the nation was encapsulated by Sir Tom Moore - a ‘quintessentially British figure in his mix of modesty and determination.’

“It can also be found in the heroics of NHS staff, the diligence of other key workers, the compassion of community volunteers and the generosity of charitable donors,” he said.

He said Covid could have torn apart our nation but argued it had actually brought it together.

His love of Britain was ingrained in his soul, he added.

“My soul always stirs at uplifting manifestations of Britishness, such as the Last Night of the Proms or sporting triumphs or tales of wartime endeavour by the RAF,” he said. “Yet such unabashed patriotism is out of fashion in our cultural elite. Intellectuals and celebrities like to signal their political virtue with sneers about Britain’s decline.

“With the advent of the Covid vaccine and Brexit, there is now a golden opportunity to renew that sense of national pride. We are at a crucial turning point in our island story, as we prepare to be liberated from viral malignancy and Brussels bureaucracy.”

The Scotsman

The paper’s leader column said Nicola Sturgeon spoke for us all when she hailed news of the vaccine as ‘the best since the start of the pandemic.’

“She also stressed that “we are not at the end of this pandemic yet”,” it said. “And in London, the message from Boris Johnson was that no one should get “carried away with over-optimism or fall into the naive belief that the struggle is over, it’s not”.”

The paper said the vast majority of people had abided by the lockdown rules and all those who had could congratulate themselves on their efforts.

“However, as our Conservative Prime Minister and SNP First Minister both made clear, we also need to stick to the task for some time to come,” it said. “The arrival of the vaccine may actually make this harder. There will be a temptation to let our guard down, to even subconsciously declare a premature end to the crisis and, therefore, relax a little. It’s only human nature.”

But to do so would be a mistake, it addedd. Possibly a fatal one.

“It is imperative that we remain as resolute as we were at the start of the lockdown,” it said. “We are not there yet. So, in the meantime, while we wait for the nation to be vaccinated and for the vaccine to take effect, we must not let our guard down, we must not cause avoidable deaths by taking risks or flouting the guidelines. And, when our turn comes, we should take the vaccine.”

The Daily Mail

Stephen Glover said if we weren’t cutting our links with the EU it was likely we would have waited until the European Medicines Agency (EMA) delivers its verdict at the end of this month.

“The EMA and several European politicians are tut-tutting, implying that our regulator has jumped the gun,” he said. “I listen to Dr David Nabarro, a leading expert at the World Health Organisation, who says that in the licensing of medicines: ‘British expertise has always been taken seriously’.Might it be that our own regulators are just as good as the EU’s?”

He said our regulators were quicker to act because they weren’t bound in red tape.

“[Could] the speed of this decision is a portent of what it will be like to run our own show?,” he asked.

“Whatever happens in the next few days, deal or no deal, there will be many advantages to not waiting while important decisions are taken by others on our behalf,” he said.

“All the same, I hope there is an agreement. The Office for Budget Responsibility stated that a No Deal Brexit could reduce GDP by 2 per cent on top of the economic bloodbath caused by Covid.”