The long Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend is almost upon us. This milestone is a truly defining moment in our nation’s rich and proud history, an occasion that none of us alive today will ever see again. Her Majesty The Queen is our longest ever serving monarch and the longest serving in the world today. It is of course not just about length of service, remarkable as that is, but about how well she has served us and represented our nation and the Commonwealth. I hope everyone will have some free time over the next few days to be able to enjoy the festivities as we celebrate this historic milestone.
It has been a tough couple of years since the pandemic struck, but it is pleasing that this occasion will be the first major national celebration under normal living conditions this decade. Whether celebrating in Crawley or going to London or elsewhere, I wish everyone a very happy Platinum Jubilee weekend.
It is worth noting that being able to enjoy this special event safely, is linked to our country’s success in dealing with Covid-19. Other countries are still struggling with it, including China where some major cities are under strict and draconian lockdowns. Our world-leading vaccination programme and health treatments has reduced serious Covid illness to very low levels and overall immunity levels in the population are very high. We are learning to live with Covid and cases in the UK have fallen to much lower levels.
We still have challenges in our NHS which Covid made much greater. Therefore, record additional investment in the NHS continues, with £12 billion a year in extra funding for our health and social care services over the next three years, totalling £36 billion. This will enable backlogs to be tackled, a cap placed on the cost of social care, and better services.
We have more doctors and nurses working in the NHS in England than ever before, but workloads remain high. Many will be working during the next few days, as indeed will other essential workers. We thank them too for their service.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
1st June 2022