New York has the Rockefeller Christmas tree, Seville has the largest lit nativity scene, 30 feet high, Strasbourg is known as the Capital of Christmas. London has a thin, poorly lit Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square donated by Norway. Sorry Norway. It is time for a change. We need more boldness at Christmas. Bling even…
I am also struck whenever I travel overseas how much better foreign cities are with confident architectural gestures. It could be the glass pyramid at the Louvre, soaring skyscrapers and the High Line in New York, the Dome in Berlin’s Reichstag, the Guggenheim modern art museum in Bilbao. The list goes on.
London is too cautious as is the UK as a whole. We nearly didn’t get the Shard due to internal dissent. We lack imagination, the appetite for taking a risk in supporting dramatic tourist attractions. We find reasons not to do anything. Why didn’t the garden bridge in London happen, for example? It would have been a huge draw, and half the US$40 million cost had been raised privately.
And how many regional cities in the UK offer much to attract tourists to leave London? We mostly have to rely on the countryside.
The UK can’t seem to get anything done. Government can’t cut through bureaucracy. We are mired in endless public enquiries. Not my phrase but we have an analogue civil service in a digital age. Love him or hate him, look at how much Trump has achieved versus Labour in its first year of office with an overwhelmingly Commons majority. We should be embarrassed.
So, a few ideas for next year. A competition for bold architectural projects across the UK, financed privately but with government cutting red tape. No more public enquiries. The solutions to most seemingly intractable problems are often staring us in the face. And let’s start praising what we do well. You only need to consider America to see the benefits of our independent judiciary, for example. More positivity fuels ambition and more gets done.
Risks should be taken, not only in politics and business but culturally too. Which takes me to my last easily achievable idea. For the festive season, a big bold brave Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square next year please which outdoes the Rockefeller one, full of multicoloured lights and massive decorations. We need more bling in life, and when this tree is up, we will love it!
Predictions for next year in January. In the meantime, have a fabulous Christmas! 🎄🎄🎄
Inside Right Politics 