David Simmonds CBE MP writes his monthly column. 

Like many of you I look ahead to this coming Friday 8 May, the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, with an even deeper respect for the generations who faced the unprecedented challenges posed by the second World War. As our communities adapt and struggle in the face of Covid-19, it will be a strangely apt time to pause and reflect upon the strife and sacrifice endured not just by the inhabitants of the UK, but by people and nations across the globe.

The world we inhabit today; the challenges we face, our strengths, and our weaknesses, all of course differ from 1945. However, the selfless bravery of those on our ‘front line,’ and the sense of public duty that imbues all those across the country who have respected the necessary restrictions in order to protect them, remains our greatest shield.

I have been heartened to hear in my latest briefings with our police commanders that crime has fallen dramatically during these recent weeks – a result unimaginable when our city was gripped by rising serious violent crime last year. This is partially the result of our communities looking out for each other with good neighbourly behaviour. It is also due to the Government and the men and women who serve in our police working together to ensure that, in the true spirit of the principles of Sir Robert Peel: that the police are the public, and the public are the police.

There will no doubt be extensive analysis and lessons learned once we have overcome this latest of challenges. Not least by a city and Mayor which had struggled of late to harness the community spirit of Londoners in a common endeavour to see off the threat of crime, and the fear and disorder which it sows. For now, the world may be ‘at war,’ but to quote the Heath Secretary: this time all of humanity is on the same side.

First published: MyLocalNews - May issue