Preparations for the Coronation of King Charles III are well underway. There’s been a rehearsal, the guest list has been drawn up and everyone is busy working out how much it will cost.
Millions will be taking part – maybe getting friends and family together, maybe a street party, maybe the pub.
However we decide to mark it, the day itself will touch us all.
And however you feel about the Coronation, the decision to invite nurses, social care workers and veterans is appreciated.
But this cannot be allowed to be another empty gesture.
During Covid, the whole country was encouraged to go out on to their doorsteps and applaud our NHS workers.
It was a tribute to the enormous sacrifice they were making.
We knew they were at breaking point. We knew they were putting their lives on the line.
And we wanted to show them we cared – how much they are loved and valued.
We wanted to show that when we emerged from the shadow of Covid, it would be into a new world where the people who had given so much were rewarded properly.
Of course, it did not happen. The hard-partying Government had other priorities.
Like Professor Nola Ishmael OBE, a medic with decades of experience, told us: “It’s a contradiction. On the one hand, we are highly regarded and valued, but we have been disregarded financially.”
As the strikes of recent weeks have shown, medics are desperate.
Nurses are quitting in droves, fed-up with terrible pay and conditions. Many are forced to use food banks to make ends meet.
It is not good enough. It is no way to treat the heroes of the pandemic.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner told us the Tory government has “learned nothing”.
That’s right. Hopefully, putting those nurses at the heart of this event will remind people of their sacrifices – not that any of us should need reminding.
And if this Government cannot care for them, it should make way for one that can.
Just rein it in
Despite protests, despite disruption, the Grand National went ahead.
The race was delayed due to animal rights activists storming the track. A couple of them even glued themselves to fences.
As civil disobedience goes, it probably did more harm than good to the activists’ cause.
We agree that raising awareness of animal cruelty and the environment is hugely important. But disrupting an event so beloved by millions is not the way to do it.
These activists have pledged to go further.
But, at this rate, they won’t be taking the public with them.
