THIS week, I have been so proud to pay tribute to all those who served our country and the servicemen and women who continue to do so.

We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those who fought for our freedom. On Remembrance Day, we remember and honour those who sacrificed so much for us all.

Our servicemen and women represent the values the British people admire most – integrity, discipline and service.

This year we have seen first-hand the dedication, professionalism and hard work of our service men and women in communities across the United Kingdom in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Our armed forces always stand ready to step in at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever support is needed.

This year, they have been at the heart of efforts to keep our country going through this crisis.

From helping to build the Nightingale Hospitals and transporting personal protective equipment to frontline workers to repatriating British citizens who were stranded abroad, our armed forces have risen to the challenge.

We are a stronger, more resilient country because we are able to call on the support that is provided by our armed forces here at home.

This year we have also been reminded that military service is not just an occupation. It is a calling and an ethos that stays with service men and women for life, long after service personnel have retired from active duty. As Captain Tom Moore showed us all in raising over £32 million for our National Health Service, so many of our veterans are active in communities across the country.

In my constituency, the Tameside Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club provides invaluable support to local veterans. The wonderful volunteers are always there ready to pop the kettle on and lend a friendly ear.

Remembrance Sunday was very different this year as lockdown restrictions meant we couldn’t come together at commemoration services to pay our respects as we normally would.

I laid wreaths at memorials across my constituency, joining people up and down the country who privately marked the occasion, with many observing the two minute silence on their doorstep.

2020 has been a year of struggle and sacrifice and we know many challenges lie ahead. But in these difficult times whenever we are in need of inspiration, we can always look with pride, not only to our wartime generations or those who are currently serving our nation at home and abroad, but to all our service men and women who throughout this pandemic have stood side by side with our key workers in the battle against this virus.

On Remembrance Sunday, we marked 80 years since the Battle of Britain and 75 years since the end of WWII. We must renew our commitment to ensuring that all of our veterans get the support that they need and deserve. We all owe them so much.

We need to understand the hopes and aspirations of the Armed Forces community, as well as the problems they face after a decade of declining numbers, morale and pay.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.