Reflecting on the past year...

The year of 2022 has been eventful- to say the very least. A lot has happened over the past 11 months, and a lot can happen in the 1 month left. After reflection of this year's events, I feel that there are numerous lessons society can take and learn from.

We started the year of with the warmest new years' day in history, with the temperature being recorded at 16.2C. This for me means that we started the year of on a high note. Alas, this did not last long. In Parliament, the public finally begins to get closure on the 'Partygate Scandal'. Boris Johnson finally admits he did in fact attend the parties at 10 Downing Street, and he offers the House and the public his 'sincere' apology. Much of the public and the House felt the same, as requests for Johnson's resignation came flying in from all sides. On the subject of powerful institutions- we've got drama within the Monarchy. Prince Andrew fails to dismiss his American sexual assault case against Virginia Guiffre. It is only January and the issues are already piling up.

Moving on to February, we saw Boris Johnson travel to Kyiv for talks with President Zelensky amid rising concerns over Russia-Ukraine conflict. The weather in the UK began to decline, as news of Storm Eunice emerge- one of the most powerful storms to hit the UK in decades. Later on during the month, our worries became a reality when Russia launched a full scale invasion on Ukraine. Among this, more bad news at home, as Queen Elizabeth is announced as Covid Positive, in the same month that marked her Platinum Jubilee of 70 years. Further drama from the Buckingham Palace also announced, as Prince Andrew reaches an out of court settlement for the sexual assault case suggesting there is more to the story than it seems.

Come March, concerns about the Russia-Ukraine conflict became more apparent highlighting the scale of this issue. The UK and the rest of Europe crack down on sanctions for Russia, banning any Russian media or propaganda. At home, our pockets are getting lighter as everything becomes more expensive. Inflation in the UK rises to 6.2% from 5.5% just the previous month. Nationwide further reported a 14.7% rise in house prices, marking it the highest annual increase since 2004. The average typical UK house is now ￡265,312.

With April came the ONS Infection Survey that showed 4.9million people at that time had Covid 19. This was the highest figure recorded since the pandemic began- clearly driven by the presence of the new variant Omicron. Our pockets continue to get lighter, as everything becomes more expensive. In April, inflation hit 7%. On another note, chaos is brewing in the Commons yet again. An investigation was announced into a Member of Parliament, surrounding allegations of watching pornography in the chamber. This MP was later revealed to be Neil Parish, who was suspended in relation to this investigation.

With May came more sanctions for Russia- now introducing a ban from using British management consulting, accounting and PR services. More chaos in the Commons, as local elections saw the Conservative Party lose a net of 485 seats. To make matters worse for them, police issue another 50 Fixed Penalty Notices in regards to 'Partygate'. On a more positive note for the government, more sanctions were announced for Russia targeting ￡1.7billion of trade. As if Covid was not enough, May marked the introduction of the Monkeypox outbreak, after it was detected in an individual who travelled to Nigeria and returned to the UK. In the days after, more and more cases began to be reported. Lastly, May marked the opening of the New Elizabeth Line in London.

As we were all preparing to go on holiday in June, the airports had different plans. Airport strikes continue due to staff shortages and the struggle to recover from Covid 19. In the Commons, we see members losing confidence in their leader, Boris Johnson, initiating a vote of no confidence. Sir Graham Brady announces the result of this vote and reveals the party does still have confidence. Despite this minor win for the party, they are quickly reminded that hospital waiting lists hits a record high of 6.5million people. Amid this, biggest rail strikes have been announced since 1989, putting a halt to almost 80% of the services. Further strikes also announced by barristers over the issue of legal aid. To touch on inflation in this month- it rose to 9.1%.

July came and hit us all in full force, with chaos in the Commons yet again. Starting off with Sajid Javied resigning as he could "no longer, in good conscience continue to serve his government". More resignations flew in this month with the chancellor Rishi Sunak resigning, claiming change needs to happen in the government, as the public expects them to be conducted "properly, competently and seriously." On the subject of serious- Just Stop Oil protesters begin gluing themselves to paintings around the word in protest. Towards the end of the month we saw a more surprising resignation with Boris Johnson announcing he will no longer be the Prime Minister. Among this 'hot mess' we have soaring temperatures reaching 32C. Oh, and inflation rose to 9.4%.

We started off August with yet more of the heatwave. Droughts have now been declared in Central, Southern and Eastern parts of the UK. More ONS reports were published this month highlighting the shrinking of the UK economy by 0.1% between April and June. Inflation also hit its highest peak since 1982, rising from 9.4% to 10.1%. More protests from Just Stop Oil were seen this month, with 43 people arrested in relation to it. On a more positive note, the UK becomes the first country to approve an updated Moderna Vaccine which was effective even against the new Omicron variant. More good news come, as Notting Hill Carnival returns and people party for the first time since 2019.

September was the time to settle. After all the chaos we saw in Parliament we have finally decided who will be the new Prime Minister- it was Liz Truss. With this, Buckingham Palace released an announcement that she will be seen by the Queen in Balmoral, where she will be asked to form a new government. Further announcements came flying out of Buckingham Palace informing the public of their concern for Queen Elizabeth's health. Our worries unfortunately became reality, when on the 8th September 2022, at 18:30pm, HM Queen Elizabeth II, passed away peacefully at the age of 96. With this, The Prince of Wales became the King of the United Kingdom. Towards the end of this month, we saw even more unsurprising chaos in government, with Kwasi Kwarteng delivering an 'emergency mini budget' which announced some controversial measures. As well as this, we saw the United Kingdom come together in unison, to remember the 70 year reign of Queen Elizabeth at her state funeral.

October appeared to be the month of strikes- more than 50,000 rail workers go on strike affecting almost 90% of all services. We also hear more from Liz Truss as she makes her first conservative party conference speech saying she is focused on "growth, growth, growth". Unfortunately, the only growth that managed to happen was inflation- hitting 10.1%. Yet again more strikes from Just Stop Oil- this time targeting Vincent Van Gogh's masterpiece from 1888 named 'Sunflowers' with soup. Towards the end of the month, we see yet again more resignations. Suella Braverman resigns as Home Secretary after sending an official government document from her personal email address, amounting to serious misconduct. The public was however, more shocked to see the resignation of Liz Truss after just 45 days in office- the shortest of any Prime Ministers in UK history. Naturally, this set off talks of more elections where we heard of questionable characters such as Boris Johnson talking about making a political comeback. Talks of this were however later shut down by Boris himself, and the United Kingdom saw Rishi Sunak as their new Prime Minister.

This month started off on somewhat of a funny note- Matt Hancock being suspended for his appearance on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here (where he actually managed to finish 3rd). While winning ￡400,000 from the show, he lost his membership in the Conservative Party and now stands as an independent MP. Surprise surprise, news of more resignations as Sir Gavin Williamson resigns over allegations of bullying. In addition to this, further reports from the ONS showed that the economy shrank by 0.2%, and the rate of inflation is resting at 11.1%. Even more strikes in this month, this time from The Royal College of Nursing announces their biggest strike in NHS history in a dispute over pay.

A lot has happened over the past 11 months, and we still have 1 month left. It is important to learn from these issues over the past year, but it is also important to not hold on to them. May the forthcoming year bring nothing but positivity and prosperity for the UK and its people.

-Michael