WHAT difference a few weeks make. I think it is fair to say the Government will have to now have a rethink about this points-based system regarding future immigration policy, as well as a few other issues.

Take delivery drivers, often self-employed with zero hour contracts and earning minimum wage.

Where would we be without them right now?

Care staff, so many from overseas, earning low wages and working long shifts, how would we survive another pandemic if care homes were already short-staffed?

NHS staff, already under-resourced and under-staffed before this crisis, so many are from overseas.

We are also seeing many negatives to globalisation.

So much British manufacturing moved overseas, where there was cheap labour in China and other countries.

It made our companies uncompetitive on price, so often the driver of consumers and companies making their purchasing decisions.

What can we do to change some of these issues?

Well, look at what employees need to earn to have a decent standard of living for a start and employers should then see what can be done to help.

The single biggest expense is accommodation for most people.

Get the price of that as low as possible and employees could maybe accept lower actual wages.

Why not consider tying some accommodation to certain employment, liked the Armed Forces often do.

Manufacturing in the UK could maybe start rising again in a much bigger way and able to build and make what we need, protective health equipment as a current example.

In the Victorian era, it was popular to provide accommodation for the workers, railway workers, farm workers, I think even Cadbury built houses for workers.

Give grants to companies to add employee accommodation to any developments.

We know we will have to build more care homes for our ageing population, add staff blocks to them.

We used to have nurses’ accommodation blocks years ago, bring that back and build accommodation for them.

Some of this will fall on private companies to provide and some on the state.

We cannot expect either one individually being the solution.

Get the cost of housing down and not just by chucking money at private house builders who will cream off billions in profits, build often sub-standard housing and sell for over-inflated prices, which the Government seems to be doing a lot to keep in place.

The housing market and prices have been over inflated for far too long, off the back of this pandemic disaster we are encountering, prices will fall. The bubble will pop.

Let’s hope Government policy will then not focus too much on re-inflating house prices, but instead concentrate on helping those in difficulty with keeping the roof over their head and genuinely help future generations to live in a home, in an affordable way.

Let’s look to get house prices back in line with wages.

Gordon White Portslade