OPINION
Queen Elizabeth II's death had a profound effect on the UK (Image: PA)
The phrase an ‘end of an era’ is often overused but not when we consider the events of September 2022 and the death of Queen Elizabeth. For millions of us, she was the only monarch we had ever known. Life without her seemed unthinkable. But then the unthinkable happened and Her Majesty passed away aged 96. The strangeness of a Britain without Queen Elizabeth II – having to sing ‘God Save the King’, instead of ‘God Save the Queen’ – continues to resonate to this day.
Looking back from the vantage point of the Queen’s triumphant Platinum Jubilee of June 2022, who could have predicted the upheavals that lay ahead? These changes have had much more of an impact because they happened in a country which was renowned for its stability. After all, we had the same monarch for 70 years.
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And prior to 2022, we’d only had seven Prime Ministers in 40 years. Between 1979 and 2006 we only had three. But since June 2022 we’ve had four! So does any of this matter? I believe it does. The events of the past three years have been traumatic to a country not used to such big changes.
Of course, the Queen wasn’t going to live forever, and we were going to have to face life without her at some point. But to me and, I suspect many others – and I mean no disrespect to King Charles and Queen Camilla who have settled into their new roles admirably – it still feels rather unreal and unsettling that our old Monarch is no longer here.
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Like a much-loved parent, the Queen was a constant in our lives over several decades, a reassuring presence that whatever else was going wrong, either nationally or on a personal level, she would be there. The one constant, enduring, dependable and calm.
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Without her, is it any wonder a sense of disorientation and dislocation remains?
So yes, the Queen’s death did mark the end of an era. The second Elizabethan age, which ushered in the 'White Heat' of British science and technology, The Beatles, The Stones and the Swinging Sixties. It helped make Britain one of the most admired countries on earth. Our young Queen was the very epitome of Royal panache.
Another staple had been the Conservative Party. Even they came a cropper after 14 years in power, crashing to heavy electoral defeat in July last year. I’m sure many voted Labour believing they would bring an end to the sense of chaos.
But that didn’t end the turmoil. Far from it.
Despite claims the ‘grown-ups’ were now in charge, Labour have been disappointing on almost every level. Keir Starmer seemed to acknowledge this when, in his first speech outside Number 10, he talked about navigating the nation “through to calmer waters” and saying he stood for “stability” and “moderation”.
One of the first things his government announced was the controversial scrapping of the universal winter fuel allowance for Britain’s pensioners – brought in by a previous Labour government. The new Chancellor Rachel Reeves also changed the rule exempting family farms from inheritance tax, putting the livelihoods of thousands at risk and threatening our very supplies of food as a nation.
Today with millions of us already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, many will be fearful about what new tax rises lie in store in the Autumn Budget.
If the new administration had read the room, they’d have understood that what voters really craved was a period of quiet government – focused on trying to make our everyday lives that little bit easier. But Labour have been far from reassuring, with their change for the sake of change policies only adding to the stresses many of us face.
Of course there are things which do need to change – and everyone will have their own list of priorities. But politicians need to remember that we need stability too. Particularly after the events of the last few years.
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As for the Tories, last week Reform UK leader Nigel Farage predicted their end to the Express. “This is a bit like the early 1920s eradication of the Liberal Party,” he said. “You know, they'd won three general elections, consecutive elections before World War One, and they were gone, replaced by Labour, never to come back.”
All of which is a reminder, if we needed one, that nothing lasts for ever. We are a country, it seems, desperately trying to find our place in the modern world. No longer a world leader, no longer the most powerful nation on earth. Still influential, yes, still worth listening to, but not a powerhouse. Far from it in fact.
We can only hope there is another period of calm and stability somewhere on the horizon.
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