My Lords, this pandemic is still, unfortunately, incredibly potent. It requires us all to do our bit and continue to make those sacrifices. There are incredibly difficult decisions to be made and although today’s news of the approval of the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine is incredibly good,
none of us can afford to drop our guard against this wretched and dangerous virus, so I fully support the measures we are discussing.
I know that there will be a Statement later in the other place, announcing more measures. No Government would be introducing such measures without serious consideration. I hope my noble friend the Minister will be able to reconfirm that expectant mothers can still have a birth partner present for the birth of their babies, whatever tier they happen to be in. I also hope that the Statement to be made on the restarting of schools will give much-needed clarity, as there is so much anxiety for teachers, parents and pupils alike presently.
There are plenty of people claiming that we should have done this or not done that but it seems that no single approach has been successful: you only have to look at other European countries. Circuit breakers are advocated in some parts of this Chamber but do not seem to have worked in Wales, for example. Some noble Lords have correctly observed that not everyone believes in these measures. I simply observe that well over 40 noble Lords have signed up to speak in person in the Chamber today, despite polite exhortations to participate remotely. I make no further comment, but we must not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I agree entirely with the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, about the need for unity across the four nations of the United Kingdom but we need to exercise more patience and forbearance if the sacrifice of so many is not to be wasted.
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