If there is one thing that the Queen’s funeral has reminded us is that we are still world class at something. I chose not to watch it live but it was hard to avoid, not that I was consciously avoiding, the evening news broadcasts. And it was spectacular, which is probably the wrong word. Our history, our grand sense of pageantry, our shared mourning for a much-loved monarch. Some described it as the end of an era and in terms of the Queen, of course it was, but we, or rather the politicians who actually make the decision and directly influence the present and future, have the opportunity to use the occasion to build a greater Britain.
Doubtless, the funeral and everything which surrounded it was hugely expensive. I am not here to argue whether it was worth it or not, rather than to suggest that the money to do things is always there if we want to look for it. So, we know how to put on a funeral, watched by literally billions around the world. Surely it wouldn’t take too much more of an effort to give some more care and attention to the lives of the Queen’s subjects?
For example, let’s look at the NHS. Although the Queen and her family didn’t use the NHS – again, let’s keep away from arguments about why they didn’t – few people have visited more hospitals than royals. Many hospitals and wings of hospitals were named after various royals. Here in Bristol, we have the Bristol Royal Infirmary, which includes part of the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and has a Queen’s building. Yet our NHS today is chronically underfunded, with something like seven million on waiting lists, wards packed to capacity, A&E units overflowing with sick patients and, if my local health centre is anything to go by, it’s creaking desperately at a local level. The Queen was known for her kindness and compassion. What better way to remember her than to ensure her loyal subjects are able to access world class health care?
The same applies to many other areas of our country. How come millions need food banks, how come we are short of housing for the vulnerable, struggling to pay to educate the young, struggling to ensure dignity for seniors and we are not investing in the future? In short, it’s politics. It always is. Whilst the Queen supported good causes, governments are usually responsible for ensuring they are paid for.
The Queen used her soft power to the full and I hope her successor, King Charles, does the same. I sincerely believe that Queen Elizabeth II kept our country together through difficult and dark times. Britain has been in decline for decades, our faded glamour evident for all to see. Inequality continues to grow and now she is gone, who will paper over the cracks, as she did so brilliantly?
If the Queen’s funeral was Britain’s final hurrah, then we have missed more than a trick. We were reminded that we can do anything if we really want to, even restore our former glories, to make ours a kinder, gentler, more tolerant, more equal country. In recent years, it has felt like everything is broken and nothing works. But now we know that was only because of political choices. Can we really make things better for everyone? Yes we can. But to leave things as they are leaves us on a handcart to hell. Surely the post Elizabethan era deserves better than that?
