Happy 2024 – a new year offers new possibilities

We celebrate the new year because it is a way of marking time – one full revolution around the sun. We will only experience a limited number of these time markers in a lifetime, approximately 80. This may sound a lot when you are 17 years old, but I am 55 and have a different perspective on this number.

The new year is also the start of the annual cycle of renewal, birth and death. It starts in Winter with cold weather, leafless trees and a harsh environment for nature. Spring appears and life explodes with flowers and birds and a sense of love fills the air. Summer is playful as new creatures can be seen in environments bursting with life. Autumn arrives slowly and life quietens as some creatures fly away for warmer lands and others prepare for hibernation. The cycle is complete as Winter arrives. The scene is set to start all over again.

The New Year is a time to reflect upon our journey and plan for the 12 months that lie ahead of us. This is why we make New Year resolutions – not to succeed at them, but to remind ourselves what we should change if we want a better life for we are always holding ourselves back. It is a time to think about who we should be, could be, or want to be.

Last New Year, I decided I was going to run again for Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2024. I am not happy with the state of my country and our future if we continue down this path. Many people tell me they are not happy also.

All I see around me is weakness, stupidity and defeatism. These are not the British traits that controlled the largest empire the world has ever seen and created the modern world for the benefit of all. I cannot stand what we have become as a nation, especially English men who are ultimately responsible for much of our woes.

I do not want to be one of the pathetic moaning English men with no backbone and no intention of trying to be part of the answer to our country's problems. I intend to stand up this year and be heard. I will expose the weakness that is killing my country. I will highlight those in power who are failing us all.

I may not be successful in being elected, but I will try and do my best. That is all England has ever asked of its men – to do their duty. I will do my duty.

I have four months left to become Mayor. If I fail I will not face death, imprisonment or expulsion – as many others do in faraway countries. I have nothing to lose. I have nothing to fear. Many people have faced worse odds than me and knew death was waiting in the wings if they were not successful – these were brave people. I am not brave, I am just not a coward – there is a huge difference.

I need help if I am to be successful. I am not a one-man superhero who can change the world by himself. I am just a kid off a council estate who was lucky enough to be born in the greatest country ever to exist. It is only fair that I try to preserve it for the kids who come after me. How about we all try to improve our country this year in any way we can?

Allow me to be presumptuous and offer you a potential New Year resolution you may like to embrace. Instead of pretending to improve yourself, why not improve my chances of becoming Mayor? If successful, our country will improve. And your life!

I need to raise my public profile for many people have still not heard of me which is understandable. Why not take it upon yourself to share my social media posts and speak to your family or friends about me - personal recommendations have so much more impact than seeing a poster or reading a tweet. I need the grassroots to want change and to demand change. A democracy only works when the people engage in it.

I also need financial donations so I can buy adverts, social media boosts and leaflets: https://democracythree.org/nick-buckley-4-mayor-of-greater-manchester. Or if you are a patriotic millionaire then get in touch directly. I do not need much money, just enough to help me overcome the silence of the mainstream media.

History-making moments are never planned to be so. It is only with hindsight that historians can see the impact of such significant moments. One is overdue in the UK, all we have to do is be prepared to help it along when we see it.

I am not for one moment saying I am a history-making individual for I am not. But the ground has to be prepared for the chosen one to tread and I am prepared to toil to ensure the foundations are solid for the change that will surely come.

Are you prepared to lend a hand? Are you prepared to break a sweat to ensure your way of life survives? Are you prepared to answer the call of your country? Are you prepared to do your duty?

I am. What say you?