Opinion Matrix: Will unity be the UK’S new resolution?
THE opinion columns of the first day of 2020 examined taking back control of British waters, abuse of politicians and Prince William’s appeal to save the world from environmental collapse in the next decade.
The Scotsman
MSP and columnist Murdo Fraser discussed the online abuse levied at politicians during the 2019 General Election – said to be around four times higher than during the 2017 election.
He said: “The growth of social media has increased the opportunity for those with an axe to grind to express their views directly to politicians in a public forum.”
But, he explains, the modern day phenomenon of online trolls, while utilising distinctly modern technology, is not necessarily a new trend.
“The history of general elections going back to the 19th century demonstrates that these could be robust affairs. Burly ‘bludgeon men’, often recruited from shipyards or from fighting rings, would be employed by both sides to stand threateningly outside polling stations. Political candidates addressing public meetings could be pelted with stones, faeces and dead cats.”
Daily Mail
Editor-at-large Richard Kay praises Prince William for picking up his father’s environmental “baton” with the launch of a major international prize to help heal the planet from catastrophe by the end of the decade.
He wrote: “While his latest initiative undoubtedly owes much to what he has learned from his father, William has embraced the more optimistic outlook of Prince Philip, who pioneered royal concern over the planet’s longterm future more than half a century ago.
“In turning to Sir David Attenborough, who helped launch the prize, William has been especially canny. Attenborough’s cross-generational support is guaranteed to ensure the Earthshot Prize is not seen as a wishy-washy royal objective but something that really matters.”
The Times
The newspaper focused on proposals to ban private car journeys in York city centre, calling plans “welcome”.
It said: “A good that benefits families individually in allowing
them to travel freely has big social costs , measured in traffic congestion and air pollution.
“This mismatch needs to be dealt with. A proposal by councillors in York to ban private car journeys in the city centre within three years is far sighted. Other cities would do well to follow their lead.
“It is entirely proper for a municipal authority to be concerned about the health of its residents and a car-free initiative is the right course. There are many challenges to implementing a ban, of which the most deep-rooted is to change commuter’s habits. Yet the alternative is to tolerate the
principal cause of air pollution.
“Worldwide, car exhausts cause around 20 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions. Because traffic tends to concentrate in urban areas... it is especially important that city authorities take a lead in regulating car journeys and their consequent pollutants.”
The Daily Telegraph
The newspaper’s leader column hailed the importance of unity moving into the new year:
“In just 30 days’ time, three years and eight months after the referendum that brought it about, Brexit will finally happen. The Brexit debate has been a bruising and deeply divisive experience for the country and its body politic.
Mr Johnson, who more than any other politician save Nigel Farage helped bring it about, knows there are many people who will never forgive him.
“Even though most Remainers are now resigned to the inevitability of departure, it would be a mistake for Brexiteers to adopt a triumphalist attitude on January 31. The Prime
Minister won’t unite the country if those on the losing side feel they are having their noses rubbed in it.
“Mr Johnson understands this and goes out of his way in his upbeat New Year’s message to make overtures to Remainers, promising to work with them as “friends and equals”. If the debilitating attrition of the past few years can finally be brought to an end and the country brought together then there is nothing that cannot be achieved. Mr Johnson says getting Brexit done by the end of the month will allow the country and Parliament to ‘turn the page on the division, rancour and uncertainty which has dominated public life and held us back for far too long’.”