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Across the UK, online, on DAB and on your smart speaker,

the Independent Republic of Mike graham on talk radio good morning and welcome to the Independent Republic of Mike Graham right here on Talk Radio.

Well, the rain has finally stopped falling and we have this morning, ladies and gentlemen,

something of a spring in our step. We have returned refreshed from a lazy weekend,

safe at the knowledge that our hard

work is beginning to pay off. All last week, I was campaigning for the forgotten victims of this

COVID pandemic, the hardworking men and women from the small businesses that make this country

great and make it what it is. All last week, I was urging the government to bring us a kind of roadmap out

of the lockdown that is killing so many livelihoods

and so many formerly vibrant communities. And this morning, it looks as though all the noise

we made is beginning to pay off. Government ministers acknowledged over the weekend the restrictions

would have to be filled and lifted and that we now need a plan to do so. And Nadim Sahar,

we told Julia Hartley-Bruhe exactly the same. Precisely is what I would say.

Now we can crack on with defining just what the causes and effects of the lockdown are

so that we can plot our escape.

So Desmond Swain put it best with Julia Hartley Brewer this morning.

It is, after all, a matter of urgency.

We'll be checking in with John Rental, Chief Political Commentator from the Independent. There's much to discuss, much to talk about, hope in the post for an awful lot of people.

We're told that five million vaccinations could be handed out very, very shortly.

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