As Stroud District alongside other parts of Gloucestershire move into Tier 4, on behalf of our local Labour Party we wish to formally thank and acknowledge everyone especially NHS staff who having been working so hard throughout the pandemic to save lives.

We thank those members of the local Labour party who are doctors, nurses and volunteers who are keeping people safe, helping with the roll out of the vaccine programme and supporting people in their communities.

We also wholeheartedly condemn inflammatory falsehoods being put round on social media regarding COVID 19 which are particularly offensive and morale sapping for the key workers mentioned above.

It’s sad that the good name of Stroud District, which was home of Edward Jenner whose vaccination discovery saves millions of lives around the world each year, is associated with such negativity.

Doina Cornell Leader Stroud District Labour Group and Steve Lydon Chair Stroud Constituency Labour Party