THE government's decision to go for a three household Christmas plan continues to be debated.

On the one hand this has been the toughest of years and a five day break will be appealing to many desperate for a normal Christmas.

But there is every chance three households mixing together will see a rise in infections just as we are seeing a decline.

We have seen twice this year what happens when we don't have a grip on this deadly virus, and things spiral out of control.

Plus any hope of an effective test, track and trace system has long gone.

So the question now is do we really want a third lockdown in the new year?

Even this week, as we came out of lockdown, the daily number of deaths announced was still shocking.

The government's message has to be enjoy yourself, but still to be cautious. This was never going to a normal festive season, and expecting it to be so was always going to end up in disappointment.

But now we finally have the route out of this nightmare - vaccines that appear to work - it is crucial we do our bit for the final mile and save lives.

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• As I write this the moment of truth on Brexit, learning our destiny and if it is deal or no deal, has still not been revealed.

But that could finally come later today, or this week.

I have often said that no deal should not be the right outcome to this saga.

And, given time for the negotiations has run out, I'd argue a rushed through deal before January 1 is not exactly desirable either.

But here we are.

Could the government delay again, even at this late hour?