Please support your small and local businesses this Christmas. By buying and selling locally you are helping to keep local jobs in our communities.
A special thank you to our local South West businesses that stayed open and provided essential goods and services during COVID. It was a real challenge, but they did a great job.
So please support these same small businesses now when you're doing your Christmas shopping.
I also want to thank our farmers and transport workers who, during COVID, made sure that food was on the shelves, even when there were logistical challenges that we saw with "panic buying".
Our transport workers and farmers just kept making sure that food and general supplies were there for us.
Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you for everything you have done to help keep your family, your friends and your community safe during COVID.
You have shown wonderful kindness to each other during what has been a challenging year. We've seen that kindness repeatedly in each of our communities.
Can I ask everyone in the South West to stay safe on the roads over the Christmas and holiday break.
We have got more people on our roads now, and we will see these numbers increase during the Christmas period.
Wherever you are travelling, please give yourself plenty of time to get there safely.
This can also be a time where we see an increase in scams and online predators.
So make sure you and your family stay safe online.
Make the most of your time together over Christmas and let's all have a happy and healthy 2021.
