In the most positive statement that he has made from the dispatch box since the start of the pandemic, Matt Hancock this afternoon announced that the NHS has been tasked “with being ready from any day from the first of December” to instigate the vaccine rollout plan. Impressively the UK, which is home to 1% of the world’s population, has secured some 10% of the world’s vaccine supply thanks to Kate Bingham. Hancock thanked NHS workers in advance for what they will do “to inject hope into millions of arms this winter”…

The testing story was unusually positive too. The UK has maintained its lead as the country performing the most tests in Europe, and from today twice weekly testing for all NHS staff is being rolled out. This is on top of new 15 minute turnaround ‘lateral flow tests’ being rolled out to millions more people in 67 further council areas covering a significant chunk of England. It really feels like a corner has been turned…