CHRIS GREEN - Super Saturday proves a success

High streets were busier than they have been recently and people met up with friends to enjoy a socially distanced pint for the first time in months.

It was a little odd to have to ‘sign in’ when I went for a pint in my local and then to have table service rather than going to the bar, but it was good to be back and have a relaxing catch up with friends. There was a noticeably heavier police presence than usual to ensure that nothing got out of hand.

Apparently, all police leave was cancelled for the evening to make sure that they could maintain a visible presence but the day was not as busy as many were expecting.

Quite a few pubs decided not to open on Saturday and have a slower return to normal this week and the wet weather probably cut the turnout too.

I haven’t yet been for a trim but the barbers and hairdressers were all booked up and many put in extra long shifts to meet demand.

We have yet to see if people are going to go back to the styles they had before or try something new with months of extra growth.

There are some fears that our return to normality may herald a return to a Covid lockdown but there was no second spike with the recent illegal raves, riots and protests so we do have good reason for confidence.

Leicester does give some cause for concern but, having attended the debate in Parliament about their outbreak and hearing the Secretary of State and his shadow emphasising particular local circumstances, we should be confident about our future.

I was reassured also to see Wigan’s Director of Public Health, Professor Kate Ardern, set the record straight on media reports that Wigan could be next for a local lockdown.

My team and I have been doing huge amounts of casework relating to Covid and one of the greatest disappointments and most difficult things to explain is how a hairdressers can open but not a nail bar and other businesses.

If it were left to me, I would say that, so long as the staff wear the right protective kit, they should be able to.

There is a range of services that I am pressing the Government to open up soon and let’s hope that the scientific advice supports this as soon as possible.

Whilst I am delighted that Liverpool won the Premiership after battling for 30 years, having seen Bolton Wanderers travails and Bury being kicked out of the football league altogether, it is grim to see Wigan Athletic being put into administration, having 12 points docked and their future threatened.

Whether the Latics are docked 12 points this season or next, the prospect of relegation looms closer, which in turn will have a massive impact on income for a club already facing financial problems. Bolton Wanderers on the ‘Bolton side’ of my constituency has faced similar, well-publicised problems and I have been working in Parliament with both Damian Collins MP and Julian Knight MP, the former and current Chairmen of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, to push for an investigation into how the English Football League carries out due diligence into prospective football owners.

As more details emerge, including a rumour of a bet in the Philippines on the club being relegated, it is clear that we need a neutral and impartial enquiry into the EFL before we end up in the same place as Bury FC.

Whatever our sporting loyalties we can say that this was the only sour note to mark an otherwise surprisingly successful Super Saturday.