WELL, 2019 was a momentous year, with changes on all fronts. Brexit was rescinded after a second referendum rejected the lies peddled during the first vote – a better-informed electorate realising leaving the EU would be economically disastrous.
Donald Trump was ousted from the US presidency after impeachment hearings uncovered numerous scandals involving both him and his family.
Global warming was accepted by the world's nations as an extinction event, leading to immediate international action to dramatically reduce carbon emissions.
At home, the assembly finally got up and running again, with all sides committed to a new consensus where accommodation and reconciliation would be the basis of future political relations.
If this were a TV soap, I'd suddenly find myself standing in a shower, realising I was dreaming. I suspect the penny dropped for you with that last paragraph; I mean, the very idea our MLAs would behave rationally!
This last year has seen Northern Ireland, the UK and the US enter what seems like a political limbo. Political paralysis has become the new norm, with the leader of the free world retreating to his private hotels and golf resorts while wars rage throughout the Middle East and, by the end of the year, on the Turkish border.
The best efforts of Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg to waken the political leaders of the world to the reality of climate change fell on deaf ears. Boris Johnson arrogantly refused to participate in a climate change debate ahead of the December 12 general election. Across the Atlantic, his American counterpart, Trump, continues to deny climate change while his nation suffered unprecedented floods and wildfires.
Back home, Wrightbus succumbed under a mountain of debt while the son of its owner spent millions building a mega-church. One positive in local business was the last-minute rescue of Harland & Wolff. After a heroic campaign led by shop steward Joe Passmore the workforce refused to be consigned to history and valiantly fought and won back their jobs.
For the first time in the Royal College of Nursing's 103-year history our nurses took strike action, unhappy with both serious under-staffing and pay disparity with the rest of the UK.
Our latest Tory non-entity secretary of state continues in his attempt to use the strike as leverage to get MLAs back to work. He disingenuously argues health is a devolved issue and beyond his powers to remedy. This from the same party which overnight found £1 billion to fund their 'confidence and supply' deal with the DUP.
Ian Paisley was once again returned as MP for North Antrim despite being investigated by the Parliamentary Committee for Standards, the second time in just over a year. While the first scandal involved a family holiday in Sri Lanka, the latest controversy involves allegations surrounding another family excursion, this time to the Maldives. His return to Westminster, in spite of these controversies, proves his constituency is a modern-day family fiefdom.
Humiliated by two successive Tory prime ministers, Arlene Foster arrogantly refuses to accept any responsibility for her disastrous leadership, yet her position looks tenuous.
Perennial loyalist protestor Jamie Bryson seized the opportunity presented by the Tory proposal of a border down the Irish Sea to cry republican wolf. With rallies in pubs and Orange halls opposing what he called 'the Brexit betrayal', this time, unlike the flag protests, the potential for civil unrest seems remote.
The DUP and Sinn Fein were punished by the electorate at the Westminster election, both losing a substantial share of their vote. Suitably chastened, and fearful of a resurgent Alliance Party, they finally seem serious in efforts to resurrect Stormont. With our health service crumbling, any party which continues to impede progress gambles with disaster.
The queen experienced yet another annus horribilis, beginning with her nonagenarian consort, Prince Philip, ploughing into a car after being blinded by the sun. Next, grandson Harry and his new wife were castigated for travelling twice on a private jet on holiday, while publicly campaigning for climate change.
At year's end, her favourite son Prince Andrew was relieved of his royal duties over his disastrous friendship with now deceased billionaire American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
While few will remember 2019 with fondness, many will hope 2020 brings some conclusion to Brexit and an end to the divisions it has caused. At home, a return to work by our political class, who have been paid their salaries for over three years while Stormont has remained shut, will be welcome news to hard-working constituents.
Happy new year!
