The sun is shining at the moment in our corner of Surrey and that always puts people in a good mood – and with 56,215-plus people vaccinated in Surrey (as at April 19) and pub gardens, gyms and hairdressers open – whisper it quietly, but people are now wondering if the end might finally be in sight for the horrible pandemic we have been enduring.

When that moment comes we will rightly celebrate – but picking up the pieces will not be easy. 4.7 million people are estimated to be on NHS waiting lists in England with major delays even to time-critical conditions such as cancer. I will return to that issue shortly in this column – but today I want to focus on another area where the pandemic has done huge harm, namely the impact on local businesses.

Despite the chancellor’s generosity, many have been dealt a body blow by the events of the past year. I remember one business owner in Farnham breaking down in tears as she explained just how desperate her situation was – not just having to pay rent for a shop without having any income, not just the best-laid plans for the future up in smoke, but the constant, nagging uncertainty about when, if ever, things will get back to normal.

That is why last autumn I launched my South West Surrey Bounceback campaign which many of you signed up to enthusiastically. Unfortunately, none of us were to know then that January would see the country move back into a third lockdown, so my plans to help the constituency get back on its feet had to be put on hold. But only temporarily – because with the relaxing of some lockdown restrictions from last week, we now have the opportunity to play our part in supporting local businesses and voluntary organisations.

The good news is how much support there is locally to do just that. A massive 84 per cent of you who replied to my survey said you would buy more locally-sourced produce when you shop and 68 per cent said your main consideration when shopping was to support local businesses.

Sixty per cent wrote you would make the effort to support local pubs and restaurants while 48 per cent would visit a local attraction you had not visited recently.

These are really encouraging figures and business owners and managers can really take heart how much we, the local community, are behind them.

So now is the time to get cracking! Please tell your friends to remember to shop local, eat local, and go local as much as you can. We live in one of the best parts of the country and with summer around the corner it’s time to enjoy what we have on our doorsteps, all the while observing the sensible social-distancing rules in place.

One final thing to get back on our feet: let’s get rid of the scourge of litter that seems to have emerged. It is a terrible eyesore – and the anti-social people who are minded to drop litter tend to do so more frequently when there is lots of it around. So next Saturday afternoon (May 1) I will be do a constituency-wide litter pick. Do join me – just email my office and I will tell you the details of when and where we are doing it near you.