The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

Having seen our everyday lives laid waste by this virus, there is, at last, light on the horizon.

That light comes in the shape of new medicines and vaccines and a world class scientific community, which has brought us the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine and the most advanced genome sequencing in Europe.

By March, most of our vulnerable should be inoculated, hopefully allowing a semblance of normality to return. Restarting our economy is paramount for, without it, there’s no funding for our vital public services.

However, there is reason for optimism. We have finally and irrefutably left the EU, the Prime Minister and Lord Frost confounding the cynics with a zero tariff, zero quota trade agreement, making us a truly global, trading nation.

Our international Trade Secretary has worked across time zones and continents to produce a remarkable 61 deals, underpinning a further £867 billion of UK trade with nations including Canada, Singapore and Japan.

And, contrary to the views of those who sponsored ‘Project Fear’, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey acknowledged on 6 January that Brexit issues will be, “manageable and not a threat to stability”.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Google and Facebook all have new London headquarters, multinational giant Unilever has decided to stay in Britain, and a recent Financial Times survey found that a majority of international banks and asset managers increased their London headcounts since the Brexit vote.

These dark clouds will part, enabling our dynamic country to take its proper place on the world stage.