After a year of turmoil in Westminster, this season’s collection of politicians’ Christmas cards appear to be from another world: instead of cliff-edge votes and brutal election campaigns there are dogs and polar bears.
Both the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, enlisted the help of schoolchildren to spread festive cheer with their own efforts.
Johnson issued a multi-coloured card designed by 10-year-old Joaquin Agcaoili at St Bernadette Catholic primary school in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency, whose winning design from hundreds of entries depicted the baby Jesus in a manger below the star of Bethlehem.
Corbyn’s card featured a bright green Christmas tree accompanied by a snowman, Santa riding his sleigh and an angel. It was designed by nine-year old Luis Walker, who has cystic fibrosis. He wrote to the politician earlier this year to highlight his fight to access the life-changing drug Orkambi. Inside the card, Walker wrote that his Christmas wish was “for everyone all over the world to get the medicine to make them feel better”.
Meanwhile the chancellor, Sajid Javid, chose a card featuring his beloved dog Bailey – who shares his name with the soon-to-be governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey – sitting by his ministerial red box adorned with baubles and fairy lights.
The Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s card highlighted the growing climate crisis. Designed by the musician Annie Lennox, it shows a polar bear perched on a melting iceberg.
Commenting on the image, which will be auctioned in the New Year to raise funds for three charities, Sturgeon said: “We must continue to live up to our responsibility to tackle the global climate emergency.”
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, picked a traditional nativity scene on his Christmas card. The former deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, apparently used his card to plug his latest book release. While the front featured a snow-covered Christmas scene, the back of the card showed an advert for his new book, Downsizing, about his battle to lose weight in order to reverse his diabetes.
Not to be outdone by politicians, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, issued their card on Friday showing the couple driving in a classic British car during their visit to Cuba in March.
