Our top priority should be to maintain a strong economy - column by Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness

What’s the biggest story that affects most people in this country? What, in many ways, should be on the front pages of every newspaper and website in the country?

I don’t pretend for a second that the reprehensible behaviour reported from Downing Street’s drinking deserves attention, an investigation and, of course, punishment where appropriate.

But in truth, the UK’s emerging from Covid, into a world where there are almost no restrictions, has an indisputably greater impact on everybody in this country.

That’s a direct result of the approach the British public took to getting the vaccine and the booster, and also to what the government did around a host of issues to make sure schools stayed open and all our economic interests were appropriately balanced with the national health interest.

Living with Covid will, in all likelihood, look very much like living with the host of other viruses that are endemic.

So a regular, flu-like vaccination programme will hopefully mean the extreme measures around school ventilation and masks can fade away.

Add to this the fact that the UK economy is now back to pre-pandemic levels and there are many reasons to be optimistic about both the health and the wealth of the UK.

The hospitality sector, particularly vital locally, needs to see that open economy, with masks and more things of the past.

That can’t come soon enough – the government’s top priority should always be that broad benefit of a strong economy.