Be of Good Cheer!

It may feel like the end of the world, perhaps it is, but even so, it’s still the season of goodwill, good cheer and good news for mankind. It seemed right then for The Spectator to ask a selection of Britain’s great and good to shed a little light on these gloomy times, and tell us why, despite our broken society and the plummeting pound, we should keep our spirits up.

Boris Johnson

It was the great Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now who said, ‘Some day this war’s gonna end.’ And some day this recession is going to end too. Confidence is going to come surging back with all the biological inevitability of the new infatuation that follows a broken heart. In the meantime, there’s always bicycle hire schemes and bacon sandwiches.

Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development

One reason I will be cheerful this festive season is that next month Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

For many of us who so admire the United States, it was inspiring to witness the election of its first black president. For me, the anticipation is also personal. In 1959, the week after they married, my parents moved to New York, where my father studied divinity and my mother completed her medical training. While there they joined fellow students in travelling to North Carolina to protest against segregation. They picketed lunch counters which would not serve blacks and were spat at by fellow whites for their actions. They queued up to attend the inaugural meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, where they heard the words of a young Baptist preacher — Dr Martin Luther King.

Then, the idea of a black president was a distant dream. Come January it will be a reality, and a reminder that however tough times are and however hard optimism can be to find, as Martin Luther King understood, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’

Baroness Royall, Leader of the House of Lords

First come the real, proper reasons that never really change — family, children, home, friends, just being alive. And pleasures, too: the garden, books, music, art, the Forest of Dean — and, oddly enough, cleaning. Second, even in the worst of circumstances, the indomitable nature of the human spirit, the permanent resurgence — however threatened, however challenged — of hope and optimism; this, for a politician, together with your own deeply rooted values, is all.

Third, the House of Lords as an institution always makes me cheerful, but if I can be allowed a party political point: Gordon Brown. It’s difficult exactly to be cheerful during the current economic conditions, but it is important for us all to be as confident as we can be — and I genuinely believe that Gordon Brown is the best reason we have in this country to be confident we can get through these tough economic times in the best possible way, with the least possible damage to our economy and our country, and with the best possible prospects for the future. Oh, and just to modify the Dury formula, four: Obama.

Joan Collins

Even with the recession and the credit crunch, there’s reason to be cheerful in that the price of gas is consistently going down. Here in the US it’s been reduced by half, so if there’s fairness in the world that should happen in the UK as well. That should loosen the purse strings for other needs (like food).

But the best thing is the new US President-elect, Obama. He has the qualities of leadership, bravery and honesty that we need from our leaders — qualities that have been in short supply in recent years.

Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

I am sometimes called the most optimistic member of the Cabinet, which I consider a great compliment. It is an attribute in short supply in politics. The coming year will be tough for many people. But in tough times people come together and discover things about themselves and each other. We will see some really ingenious ways to beat the downturn: new businesses, inventions and bursts of creativity.

One area we will see expand is environmental technology and green business. I think we will also see more volunteering, charity work and social enterprise if people are between jobs, which is good for them and for the community. It may be that as we help people back into work they discover new skills and talents. Most of all, through active government intervention and real help in these hard times, we will ensure Britain is better equipped for the inevitable recovery, and our economy is motoring faster than our competitors. So although I am no Pollyanna, I am optimistic we will weather the storm and our economy will emerge stronger than before. Most of all, I am optimistic about the genius of the British people to see us through and out the other side.

Michael Gove, MP

Malbec Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Cheddar, Stilton, Shropshire Blue and Red Leicester. Parsifal, Meistersinger, Tristan and Isolde. iTunes, iPods, iBooks and Apple Macs. Genomes mapped, particles accelerated, stem cells from cord blood promising wonderful cures. General Petraeus, Richard Dannatt, Johnson Beharry. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Elizabeth Sidwell, Dan Moynihan. Absolute Return for Kids (ARK), Phil Harris and Teach First. Looking forward to spring in Cumbria, summer on Colonsay, and autumn in Camberley.

Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading

Our children and our children’s children will look back on our generation with horror and amazement at the unsustainable way in which we live. The day of financial reckoning has already dawned. The ecological apocalypse may not be far behind. Reasons to be cheerful? Well, Jesus said, ‘The truth will set you free.’ As we emerge from the fog of economic unreality, perhaps we will at last recover not just the disciplines of thrift and self-denial, but also their joys. There used to be a rhythm to life, and those of us who still try to live by it enjoy the paradox that the feast is all the tastier when preceded by the fast. Was it Roy Wood and Wizzard who used to sing ‘I wish it could be Christmas every day’? What a nightmare! If every day is Christmas then Christmas is lost. We may not be able to bear too much reality but we urgently need its clarion call. Oh yes, and the greatest gift of Christmas — what we really need to get life back in balance — cannot be purchased on any high street but is available free at every church.

Jeffrey Archer

It’s not all doom and gloom. Think of what we have to look forward to in 2009: England will beat Australia 5-0 to win back the Ashes; the Booker prize will be won by Miss A. Page-Turner. Alistair Darling will solve the financial crisis by raising VAT to 100 per cent in the Budget. The Turner prize will be won by someone who can draw. The BBC will give Jonathan Ross a pay rise, following record viewing figures for his new show, and finally, Labour triumphs in a snap election after Peter Mandelson wins Strictly Come Dancing and is appointed Foreign Secretary. (You heard it here first.)

Angela Knight, chairman of the British Banking Association

I tend to be a natural optimist as, with a largish mortgage and a smallish pension, it is an essential requirement. Yet although 24-hour news programmes and a battle for ratings bombard us with crisis, gloom and despondency from waking to sleeping, there are more objective reasons for having some optimism. Recessions do take place and on a regular basis. Every so often politicians think they have found the holy grail of effortless, low-inflation economic growth, but common sense tells us that this is an illusion. This is the third recession of my working life, the first for me being that of the late 1970s. From that experience, and working as I was in Sheffield and Rotherham, there come four key points. First, recessions are truly nasty; second, those businesses that cut costs and become more competitive will survive — there is still business to be done in a recession; third, politicians can help, particularly if they concentrate on measures to aid business, employment and so job security (though they hinder it if they just grandstand about). Fourth, recessions do pass and if we take the hard decisions — personally, as businesses of all sorts, and as a country — then we will get out of it quickly. The banking industry meanwhile is playing its part, continuing to lend responsibly to businesses and individuals. That fact may not make it into the newspapers but more than anything else, this should bring some cheer to people in 2009.

Charles Moore

Christmas is always the best reason to be cheerful. I cannot think of any other reasons just now.