Mark Russell: Even in difficult times, we can all make a difference in 2019

Desmond Tutu remains an inspiration, says Mark Russell who heads the Church Army.

THE turn of the year is an important moment to pause and look back over the last 12 months.

What was 2018 like for you? What was the highlight? It certainly wasn’t a dull year was it? A year we lost Sir Ken Dodd, Avicii, Dale Winton, Aretha Franklin and Professor Stephen Hawking, France won the World Cup and the city of Salisbury became the epicentre of events that wouldn’t be out of place in a John Le Carré novel.

Chris Evans and Simon Mayo left Radio 2, The Greatest Showman was the soundtrack of the year and the fabulous Stacey Dooley won Strictly Come Dancing. One of my abiding memories of 2018 was seeing a huge orange baby blimp welcome Donald Trump to London – I’m not sure the British sense of humour was appreciated in the White House.

There are no prizes for guessing what the defining issue for the UK will be next year. It really is anyone’s guess what will happen on March 29, 2019.

Will the Brexit divides be bridged in 2019?

It seems the Prime Minister’s deal will struggle to get a majority in the House of Commons, and Parliament appears gridlocked about what happens next.

Will we crash out of the EU with no deal or will there be a second referendum?

Whatever you think of her policies, you have to admire the sheer grit and determination the Prime Minister  has shown in the face of such opposition.

The stakes could not be higher the closer we get to March 29, and as a Northern Irishman who lived through The Troubles, the impact of a hard Brexit on the Irish border – and consequently on the Northern Irish peace process – terrifies me.

I can’t remember a time in my life when the whole country felt so on edge, so split, so divided. How we move forward will be the defining issue for the UK in 2019.

I lead Church Army, a national charity and our teams work across the UK and Ireland, so I spend a lot of my time travelling.

I was sitting on a train from London St Pancras back home to Sheffield when the lady opposite me let out a sigh, a real deep sigh.

I looked up, caught her eye, and asked her what the matter was. She had been reading a newspaper, and she just said: “It’s all so depressing, isn’t it?”

I was sitting in Doncaster Sheffield Airport the next week and the same thing happened again.

It seems to me that the drama in Westminster, the uncertainty we face, has had a deep impact on our national psyche.

Is that it? Do we just sit idly by as our politicians debate these issues? Or can we impact the debate, can we impact our national mood?