The government is relying on public's common sense this Christmas | Annie Lewis

For the first time this year, the four leaders of the United Kingdom actually agreed on something.

And that something was for three households to be able to mix from December 23 to 27.

Alas, the mixed-bubble rug may be pulled out from underneath our feet with less than 10 days to go before the big day.

However, key to this conversation is how Matt Hancock urged the public to take ‘personal responsibility’ this Christmas and judge for themselves what is appropriate during this pandemic.

I don’t agree with Matt Hancock on much but this I do – it is up to each person to make their own decision about Christmas, taking into account the tiered restrictions they fall into.

Hugging your granny? A bad idea and very irresponsible. Meeting up with your entire class at a school reunion in a pub? Quite frankly stupid. A blatant flouting of the rules set for your tier in Kay Burley-style? Dumb and ignorant.

Cabinet minister Stephen Barclay said the government ‘did not want to criminalise’ people coming together at Christmas. And nor should they, people should have enough common sense to make their own decisions.

We have all lived through the past nine months and witnessed the Covid damage to people’s health, families, businesses, employment and the wider economy. Therefore, it doesn’t seem right for people to need the government to spoon-feed them, and tell them what is right and what is wrong.

I think it’s safe to say the majority of people don’t enjoy lockdown. Therefore to avoid another one in January, don’t be irresponsible in December.

If you are not comfortable meeting up with family and friends over Christmas, quite simply don’t. The rules aren’t there to be met and you don’t have to meet up with three households during December 23-27. It is simply a limit of how many people you can meet up with.

Christmas is special to so many families across the country. But this year, more than ever, it is important to be sensible.

Rapid testing is needed to get the travel industry going

It’s sad to hear the Test to Release system, which is meant to cut quarantine times for travellers arriving in England, has already had problems on its first day.

It’s another hurdle the struggling travelling industry has to overcome to get things back to any sort of normality.

It has been reported that when the system launched today, some test providers were overwhelmed with the sheer volume of demand from the public and one supplier pulled out.

To enable safety for travellers, particularly the older generations who may be apprehensive about getting on a plane, fast testing must come into play.

The question is whether we have the infrastructure to roll it out.

Teachers should be first in line to receive the vaccine

Since the first lockdown when schools had to close, the government has been adamant that they will now stay open throughout.

They have shown us what steps they will take as the leader of Greenwich Council said he had ‘no choice’ to keep schools in the tier-three borough open following threats of legal action from the government.

The next generation of children must be educated but teachers should be given protection like our other frontline key workers.

It is not feasible to wear a full hazmat suit in a classroom, however it is feasible to put them at the front of the queue for a vaccine alongside other key workers.