In My View: Neil Coyle, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Last Christmas we saw massive restrictions on seeing family and friends.

It has been extremely upsetting to see that Downing Street held parties while most of us made sacrifices.

Sadly, this December we have seen the Prime Minister react late again to circumstances and announce new restrictions just before we all try and see loved ones.

I have asked the Met to investigate the sickening revelations of Conservatives breaking lockdown laws last winter while London was under strict restrictions.

I followed the rules and did not see my own dad. Sadly, it was to be his last Christmas.

It takes a whole new level of arrogance to create rules for everyone else which the Prime Minister and his cronies did not believe they had to comply with, and even joked about breaking.

Last December, the Met handed out 1,681 penalties to people caught breaking the rules. Fourteen cases are still under way. I’ve been contacted by people furious that they were punished while Tories try to get away scot free.

Johnson’s bloated self-entitlement has been exposed for all to see and the public pressure grows for a full police investigation.

Businesses across London have only just started recovering and are being offered far less help from a Government that belatedly acted when it was clear the omicron variant was spreading.

Labour also asked for children to be vaccinated sooner and the Government is once again playing catch up, putting the NHS under even more winter pressure without sufficient supplies.

We should not forget that we entered the pandemic ill-prepared with PPE kit under-stocked and 5,000 fewer nurses in London than were needed before Covid struck, after years of failing Tory Prime Ministers undermining our NHS.

Thousands of leaseholders across London also face a bleak Christmas with bills hanging over them as a result of Ministers not delivering on promises to ‘protect’ them from fire safety work costs.

I’m calling for VAT to be scrapped on remedial works and I hope ministers accept the amendment I’m backing to the Building Safety Bill.

Even more misery is being heaped on Londoners after the Government again failed to provide long-term investment to keep our transport network running during Covid.

Every major capital city in the world receives national funding for its transport network, but Johnson ended that crucial resource in London and we now face cuts to Tube and bus services as a result.

Ministers must provide a full settlement

to ensure London contributes to our national economic revival.

It is vital to follow the rules this winter. Please get your vaccines and booster jabs when you can and wear masks to stop the virus spreading.

Too many people still don’t understand that you can carry Covid without any symptoms: one in three people are asymptomatic. You can spread it even if you feel okay.

It will also be crucial, once again, to look out for neighbours and more vulnerable people this Christmas.

Please take care of one another and try to keep each other safe.