Covid and Brexit have brought us a new world in 2021. It’s up to us now to be kinder, smarter and more understanding of others.

We must build different relationships with a troubled America, Europe, India and the Commonwealth, while keeping a wary eye on China.

Their one-party state will become the world’s largest economy shortly, with predatory interest in Hong Kong and Australia, and other weaker countries caught off guard.

The vaccines give us a lifeline, but a warning to reassess our attitude to such issues as climate change and racism.

The United Kingdom has a marvellous, resilient health service, freedom of speech and, now, full sovereignty again.

With our world-famous universities, financial market expertise and industrial skills in engineering and computer development, we can, and will, flourish.

But we need imaginative and fair governance. In music and literature, we are world class – aided by our universal language, a blessing, but sometimes also a curse. We are the fifth largest economy in the world, and with flair and hard work can quietly prosper. Nobody owes us a living.

However we need relentlessly good leadership, and, in some areas, such as EU negotiations, we have at last had it, with bulldog persistence, unhitching ourselves from the EU’s fading star.

Decisions on our future will happily now, not be subject to impossible and diverse approval of 27 nations.

England, Wales and Scotland should stand firm and together, whatever lies in store for Northern Ireland.

Devolution is good for some matters – albeit it expensive – too expensive, but independence is surely a step too far.

Bruce Lawson

Montgomery