The world salutes the Princess’s bravery
The outpouring of sympathy towards the Princess of Wales since she announced that she is receiving treatment for cancer is a testament to the extraordinary affection with which she is held, both in the UK and across the world. Her video message displayed her admirable courage and composure in the face of difficult news. The contrast between Her Royal Highness’s quiet dignity and the disgusting conspiracy theorists on social media could not have been greater.
Now she must be given the space and privacy she requires to make a full recovery, surrounded by her young family. It was characteristic of the Princess to stress how important it was for her and Prince William to take time to communicate the news to their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in a way that was appropriate to them. One of the reasons she is held in such high regard is how deftly she has managed to combine her royal duties with the task of bringing up a happy and well-adjusted family under the full glare of public scrutiny.
But her video also contained a message of hope, reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth II’s address to the nation during lockdown. While the late Queen lifted the country’s spirits at a dark moment in our history by reminding the public that “we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again”, the Princess of Wales spoke directly to others “facing this disease, in whatever form”. “Please do not lose faith or hope,” she said. “You are not alone.”
In just a few words, Her Royal Highness once again showed why the United Kingdom is so blessed to have a monarchy. Many appreciate the ancient and splendid ceremony, the unbroken connection with the distant past, and the political stability that it provides. But at the heart of it all is also a family.
It therefore reflects the life experiences of the rest of us in a way that no republican system, with its transient political leadership, ever could. It can uplift, reassure, and demonstrate that, through life’s vicissitudes, we are indeed not alone.
These have been a difficult few months for the Royal family. With His Majesty the King also receiving treatment for cancer, the responsibility for carrying out public engagements has fallen increasingly on Prince William, the Queen and a small group of other senior royals.
But even in adversity, the monarchy has a way of bringing the nation together. For now the country is united in sympathy and affection towards the Princess of Wales and her family. We all wish her a speedy recovery.
Tories must fight for London
In just a few weeks’ time, the Conservative Party has a chance to do something almost unimaginable in the current political environment: win an election. While the May local elections are widely expected to result in huge losses for the Tories, in London, mayor Sadiq Khan is vulnerable.
Outrage at his decision to extend the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to outer London has not dissipated. The proliferation of 20mph zones, inappropriate cycle lanes and other anti-motorist policies serve as a daily reminder of Mr Khan’s efforts to make it as difficult as possible for families, the elderly, and anyone who would rather not rely on public transport to get around.
Waste at City Hall appears to be out of control, with hundreds of staff now earning more than £100,000 a year. Transport for London has been shockingly mismanaged, taxes have gone up, and Mr Khan’s claims of doing anything serious about the capital’s housing shortage are laughable.
Crime is also once again rearing its ugly head, with Mr Khan accused of being soft on the issue by his Conservative rival, Susan Hall. She is calling on police to make more arrests at the anti-Israel hate marches in the capital, saying that officers are failing to “enforce the law” because they do not feel “emboldened enough to go and do their job properly”.
The key difference in these mayoral elections is that they are being held under first-past-the-post, not under the old supplementary vote system. This should act to the Conservatives’ advantage, particularly given that they came within just a few percentage points of Mr Khan in firstpreference votes in the last mayoral elections.
It is therefore nonsense to describe London as a “Labour city”, or to argue that Brexit permanently damaged the Tories in the capital. Forty per cent of Londoners voted to leave the EU. In any case, the anti-Ulez insurgency has shown the power of a single-issue campaign to demolish prior political assumptions. Its supporters cross political, ethnic and class divides, and Mrs Hall has made reversing Mr Khan’s expansion one of her main priorities.
If Mrs Hall can retain the Tories’ core London vote and peel off enough support from those furious at Mr Khan because of issues like Ulez, she could well win. But to do so, she needs her party’s full-throated backing. The Tories have a chance to pull off a remarkable political upset. Are they really going to let it slip through their fingers?