Good morning and welcome to the Independent Republic of Mike Graham right here on Talk Radio, The Home of Common Sense. You know what it is. I don't even have to keep saying it's the Home of Common Sense, because why wouldn't you know that already? Okay, the sun is still shining, but there are some clouds on the horizon, it would seem, as we edge ever closer to the festive season. As you might expect, we are preparing ourselves for the

onslaught of food, of drink, of presents, and of course of company, whatever the government

is telling you, and despite all the shortages that the gloomsters are warning about, there's

plenty of talk of vaccine passports, there's absolutely no reason at all for you to

be concerned at this stage. However, some of you are even telling me that you're worried that you

might be forced out of jobs if you refuse the vaccine enthusiasm. Now, we'll bring you the latest

from the front lines of the COVID wars, and we'll bring you up to date on what's happening

with the Northern Powerhouse and the HS2 announcements later on today.

There seem to be an awful lot of people in the north of England who are not exactly very

happy about the decision that Boris has made to leave them hanging high and dry.

034449-1,000 is the number up first this morning.

We're joined by John Rensel, Chief Political Commentator for the Independent, with his take on that rather rowdy Prime Minister's questions yesterday, where unusually Sir Keir Starmer appeared to have Boris Johnson, his backside.

And I'll be asking him where we go from here now that COP26 has been entirely forgotten, and nobody's mentioning anything to do with climate anymore.

Are they? Now it's still all about migrants, it's all about sleighs, it's all

about terrorism, and quite rightly, these are the big stories of the day. Also, Helen Dale is here

with her take on the big railway story and what it means for the north of the country, plus she

will give us her take on the latest migrant crisis following the suicide bombing in Liverpool. Jamie

Jenkins is also here with a rundown of what's happening in Europe on COVID restrictions, how Wales is faring now that the nation is revolting against Mark Drayford. And what

the latest numbers mean for the NHS, children are now being told to wait three months after

getting the virus to again get vaccinated. It's the same old song, isn't it? And as ever,

of course, we need to hear from you. What are you seeing? What are you hearing? And what is your place of work demanding from you? You tell us and we can tell everyone else.

I mean, are you actually seriously worried that you might have to get a new job?

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