UK
We, at LCN, are deeply saddened by the news of the death of her Majesty the Queen. On behalf of everyone at LCN, we would like to send our deepest condolences to The Royal Family and express our gratitude for her lifetime of service to the nation.
The Textile Services Association also responded to the news on Twitter saying: “We are saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family and all those close to her.
"All those within the TSA and the wider laundry industry were saddened to learn the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We join with the rest of the nation in mourning the loss of our monarch who served us all with such dignity, warmth and kindness for more than seventy years."
Hospitality UK said: “The passing of HM The Queen is a devastating loss to the nation. The thoughts of UKHospitality and those across the sector are with her family at this terribly sad time.”
Andrew Marr, political editor of LCN’s stablemate magazine The New Statesman summed up the impact for me, writes LCN editor Kathy Bowry. “Speaking on The New Statesman podcast last week, Marr described why he began to cry while announcing the death of the Queen. “As nobody’s idea of an ardent monarchist, I found myself on LBC (where he presents Tonight) announcing the news yesterday that the Queen had died,” he said. “I knew I was going to crack up, and I did. I choked up when I had to say the words, ‘We have to interrupt this programme to tell you that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96’.
“And I thought to myself, ‘Why am I so emotional? Why can I not stop my voice cracking and some tears coming to my eyes?’
“It was because I was thinking of my own father’s death two years ago. And that’s interesting, I think, because in a way – it’s a hackneyed cliched phrase – she was a kind of mother of the nation.”
It is a time of great change for everybody. The death of a beloved and highly respected monarch and the accession of a new king, Charles III. Goodbye to Boris Johnson and hello to Liz Truss as Prime Minister. Tremendous challenges ahead in terms of dealing with the unprecedented hike in energy prices, the issue of road fuel prices – although down from the peak, still considerably more than they were a year ago. Then of course there are labour shortages, a disrupted supply chain. The aftermath of Brexit.
Uncertainty about Government help available for the industry going forward is also a problem and a conundrum. Businesses will get some help in the first six months and then there is a rather woolly pledge from the Government for help for ‘vulnerable’ businesses. David Stevens of the TSA said to LCN: “We are lobbying to get the vulnerable status but as yet not clear what it means.”
Whatever the future brings under the new regimes, we will get through it together. We always do.
Guidance for the public and businesses on the period of National Mourning following the demise of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II can be found here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/her-majesty-queen-elizabeth-ii
