The place was desperately in need of a few more Brexiteers, which I have been glad to help correct. But much of my early time here has been spent fighting to take back our freedoms not from the EU, but from our own Covid-obsessed government. Don't get me wrong. The virus is dangerous, frightening, and a very real threat. But it is one of many threats our country faces and we must not neglect countering other harms whilst fighting it. The state has amassed power more rapidly than at any time since the war. It's concerning. And I don't want to see the UK emerge from this crisis as a less free society.

So many of the decisions made in this institution seem detached from the lives of working people.