From early decision-making on lockdowns, to local authorities setting up volunteering for vaccinations, Gabriel Morris has been looking back on all the key moments.
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00:00Faded but not forgotten, the scars of the pandemic remain, not just on our streets but in our politics.
00:08Five years ago, our local councils and parliament had to adapt overnight,
00:13keeping the country running while navigating an unprecedented crisis.
00:18So I was a health minister during the pandemic, I was actually the social care minister.
00:22So for me, it was a hard time and I know that I worked all day and through the night.
00:30But on the other hand, nothing compared to how hard it was for people who are at the front line,
00:35who put their lives at risk and some health care and social care staff sadly died.
00:40And of course, people who lost loved ones.
00:43And for me, it's a moment to reflect on that impact it had on our society.
00:47Councils found themselves on the front line, balancing their usual responsibilities
00:52with urgent new public health duties, coordinating volunteers,
00:57setting up testing sites and then rolling out vaccinations.
01:03We had to allocate sites for vaccination and our public health teams had to do the heavy lifting
01:12around supporting our hospitals as well as our other public services.
01:16In terms of the outcomes now, it is having an impact on school attendance.
01:20There's a post-COVID legacy there.
01:22It's having significant ramifications on where we put public health financing in the future and other issues.
01:29So this COVID legacy, so to speak, is going to be ongoing for many, many years.
01:34And there are lessons to be learned from other countries about how we best deal with that.
01:38But beyond logistics and local response, what about politics itself?
01:43Thanks to him and all his colleagues for their cooperation in the current emergency as far as possible.
01:50For a moment, cross-party unity. A global crisis demanded it.
01:55So we, of course, did the right thing, the responsible thing.
01:59But we, as much as possible, tried to ensure business as usual continued
02:03because ultimately, that's what the residents of Medway expected and needed
02:08to try and have their council working in a positive way.
02:11And again, I would argue, in a lot of ways, the most cross-party approach to many aspects of it
02:17that we've seen in the 27-year history of Medway Council.
02:21From this evening, I must give the British people a very simple instruction.
02:26You must stay at home.
02:28But nationally, the unity didn't last.
02:31Political fault lines re-emerged.
02:34Allegations of rule-breaking at the top, while the country was locked down,
02:39sparking public outrage.
02:41Politics, last five years.
02:43Has it changed during the pandemic, particularly with issues such as Partygate emerging?
02:48Well, I think we saw a lot of individuals who kind of had faith in the system and lost faith.
02:53So, yes, that has been a distraction and frustrating
02:57because I want people, even if they don't agree with my personal views and ambitions,
03:01to want to believe in a democratic process and believe in democracy.
03:06Undoubtedly, for some individuals, that process, particularly with Boris Johnson's leadership,
03:12damaged their confidence in democracy more generally.
03:15Five years on, councils are now finding themselves
03:18in one of the most difficult financial positions they've ever been in.
03:22So did the pandemic reshape politics for good?
03:26Or just expose its deepest flaws?
03:29Gabriel Morris in Kent.