DAILY MAIL COMMENT: To achieve lasting peace we must defeat evil

Yesterday, shortly before 3pm, the nation collectively rose from the dinner table and – well-fed by roast turkey and mince pies – sank onto the sofa for the King’s speech.

The monarch’s Christmas broadcast is powerful not only because of its intimacy, as it is broadcast to all our homes.

It also seeks to unite us as a country, reflecting on the triumphs and struggles of the past year – and the hopes for the next year.

Speaking of Christmas as a time when ‘family and friends come together’, King Charles reminded us of the timeless values ​​we share – people of all faiths and none. Of care and compassion for others, of the importance of forgiveness.

And as the royal family walked to the traditional church service at Sandringham, it was clear that His Majesty practiced what he preached. For the first time in thirty years, the once exiled Duchess of York – the former wife of Prince Andrew – was invited to join the entourage.

It would be catastrophic for the international rules-based order if Vladimir Putin were to win

After endless brickbats from Harry and Meghan, this was the Windsors showing a defiant united front, while signaling Charles’s firm belief in reconciliation.

In an age of growing secularism, this was a much more explicitly Christian speech than expected. Several times the king, a devout Anglican, referred to the Bible – nowhere more than in his passionate plea for peace at a time of “increasingly tragic conflicts around the world.”

The words of Jesus, he said, had rarely seemed more relevant: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Of course, no right-thinking person can disagree with that. Terrible things are happening around the world, from the war in Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine to Iranian-sponsored attacks on ships in the Red Sea. We all want an outbreak of harmony.

But ultimately, the only way to achieve long-lasting peace is to defeat tyranny and terror. Britain can be proud that we have shown unwavering support for the people of Ukraine and Israel since they were brutally attacked.

But more needs to be done. It would be catastrophic for the international rules-based order if Vladimir Putin were to win.

Even though the events in Gaza are heartbreaking, the world will be less safe if Hamas is not eradicated after its October 7 brutality and threats to repeat it.

The problem is that the West is suffering from conflict fatigue. The US and the EU are internally bickering over whether to provide more aid to Ukraine, while calls for Israel to end military operations are growing louder.

However, it would be a grave mistake if the free world did not mobilize all its forces to defend democracy. Yes, Charles is right when he points out that peace is the greatest blessing of all. But history shows us that this can never be achieved as long as evil persists.

The British Brexit boost

With polls pointing to a landslide within Labor at the next election, Sir Keir Starmer has put into practice the argument he will use to forge closer ties with the EU: that Brexit has been an economic flop.

But as a report from the influential Center for Economics and Business Research shows, Britain is actually thriving compared to our continental neighbors.

Not only will we remain Europe’s second largest economy in 2038, but we will also have narrowed the gap with Germany. France, on the other hand, will fall further behind – hampered by even higher taxes than here, a hardened public sector and crippling strikes.

Sir Keir Starmer has put into practice the argument he will use to forge closer ties with the EU: that Brexit has been an economic flop

Unshackled from the bloc, the opportunities for Britain to build strong relationships with fast-growing countries and lead the way in cutting-edge technologies are endless. And with lower taxes and interest rate cuts on the horizon, our outlook is even brighter.

Could there be a more eloquent rebuttal to Sir Keir’s argument for crawling back to the doomed European project in the hope of eventually rejoining it?