The Economist - USA (2021-12-18)

The Economist December 18th 2021 Britain 45

convictionsarebornofthreedecadesof
militaryserviceinAfrica,theBalkansand
Iraq,fromwhichhelearnedthat“peopleof
allkindshavea needtoberespected”.And
gayrightsarenotentirelya newconcern
fortheuup. In 1981 JeffreyDudgeonfought
andwona battleinEuropeancourtstoget
NorthernIrelandtofollowGreatBritain—
belatedly—indecriminalisinggaysex.In
2014 hewaselectedauupcouncillor.
The uup’smodernising tone aimsto
capitaliseona strikingfeatureofNorthern
Irishpolitics,saysJonTongeofLiverpool
University.Plentyofpeople,especiallythe
young and women, support the Union
withBritainbutdislikepro­Unionpolitics’
theocraticbent—tothepointwheremany
abstainfromvoting.Atleastintheory,the
dup’s socialconservatismcreatespolitical
spaceforanalternativeline.Foundedby
IanPaisley,a preacherwhovowedto“Save
UlsterfromSodomy”,itopposedsame­sex
marriageuntilthechangewas,ineffect,
imposedbyLondoninJanuary2020.
InJunePaulaBradley,thedup’s deputy
leader,formally apologisedforits“atro­

cious”recordongayrights.Butsomeofits

mostpromisingfigureshavebeenostra­

cisedwhentheyhavetriedtopersuadecol­

leaguestobecomelesssociallyconserva­

tive. One wasGuy Spence, who became

deputymayorofBelfastin2015,aged23.

Lastyearheabruptlyquitthedupandthe

politicalarena.Onepointoffriction,he

says,washisbeliefthatthepartyshould

moveina progressivedirection,forexam­

plebysupportingGayPrideevents.

Anton Thompson­McCormick, a gay

writerwholivesinEnglandbuthadanUl­

sterProtestantupbringing,spiesa streak

ofpragmatisminthedup’snaturalvoters

thathethinkswilleventuallybringthem

around.Whensame­sexmarriagewasim­

posedbyLondon,hesays,thisraisedhack­

lesamongpeopleintheprovincewhotake

pride in being“thran”, alocalwordfor

stubborn.Ultimately,hebelieves,theywill

realisethat“thrannessandqueernesscan

livetogether”.UntilthenMrBeattiewill

continuetorufflefeathers—andSinnFein,

whichisstaunchlypro­gayrights,willre­

joiceoveritsadversaries’confusion. n

TheMarbleArchmound

Over the hills

T

he25m-highartificialhillatoneend
of  Oxford  Street  dubbed  the  Marble
Arch  Mound  opened  in  July.  It  was  sup­
posed  to  help  lure  shoppers  freed  from
lockdown  away  from  internet  stores  and
back  to  Britain’s  best­known  shopping
thoroughfare.  But  once  the  first  visitors
were allowed on it, it was revealed to be a
mess. Rain swept turf off the slopes, leav­
ing bare scaffolding on view. What grass re­
mained turned brown. To Britons familiar
with  children’s  television,  it  was  reminis­
cent of a shabby, low­rent Teletubbyland.
During construction the cost ballooned
from  £3.3m  ($4.7m)  to  £6m.  After  it
opened,  plans  to  charge  for  entry  were
scrapped.  The  deputy  leader  of  Westmin­
ster  Council,  which  commissioned  the
mound from mvrdv, a Dutch design com­
pany,  resigned.  Opposition  councillors
said the mound was “an international em­
barrassment”  and  called  for  it  to  be  dis­
mantled  immediately.  It  is  due  to  come
down as planned on January 9th. 
It  has  managed  to  draw  in  passers­by,
perhaps in search of a chuckle. By Decem­
ber  13th  215,000  had  visited,  not  far  off
Westminster  Council’s  goal  of  280,000
(which was based on plans to charge up to
£8 for entry). On a sunny day the view is de­

cent,takinginHydePark,theShardand

the London Eye (an unfortunate reminder

that other, better views are available). On a

recent  morning  a  dozen  people  milled

about on its rickety viewing platform. “We

wouldn’t have paid, mind you,” says a cou­

ple from Bristol. The structure feels “tem­

porary”,  says  another  sightseer.  You  enter

via  a  ramp  alongside  some  scrappy  plant­

ing, and leave through the interior, a maze

of scaffolding that creaks with every step.

Before covid­19 Oxford Street was alrea­

dy  struggling,  over­dependent  on  depart­

ment stores that were losing the retail bat­

tle to online shopping, and lacking the res­

taurants, bars and gyms that would attract

visitors round the clock. Air pollution and

traffic  made  it  a  miserable  place  to  stroll.

Pedestrianising could have helped, but was

opposed by residents of other parts of the

West End who feared displaced traffic.

During the pandemic Oxford Street also

suffered  disproportionately.  According  to

Cushman & Wakefield, a property consul­

tancy, and MyTraffic, a data­analytics firm,

in  the  year  from  March  2020  footfall  de­

clined more than in any other major Euro­

pean shopping district. Sales are below the

level of 2019, says Marie Hickey of Savills,

an  estate  agent.  Between  March  2020  and

August 2021 a fifth of its stores closed. Five

department stores are downsizing or con­

verting retail space into offices. 

Westminster Council’s proposal for re­

vival,  announced  in  February  2021,  was  a

£150m facelift. It included making tempo­

rarily  widened  pavements  permanent,  in­

stalling  public  art,  upgrading  nearby

parks—and  the  mound.  Some  of  this  is

sensible,  in  particular  the  wider  pave­

ments:  shoppers  are  more  likely  to  visit

bricks­and­mortar  outlets  if  walking  be­

tween  them  is  more  pleasant.  Rents  have

come  down  since  before  the  pandemic,

too,  which  makes  retail  more  viable.  But

the  only  long­term  solution  for  Oxford

Street, says Ms Hickey, is becoming less re­

tail­heavy and more mixed­use. 

Look  past  the  gimmicky  mound,  and

there  are  early  signs  that  things  are  head­

ing in the right direction. ikeawill open up

shop in 2023. Some department stores are

planning gyms, pools and restaurants. Per­

haps  the  pandemic  was  justwhatOxford

Street needed. Business had gotsobad that

it forced much­needed change.n

How to lure shoppers off their computers? With a heap of earth, apparently

Time for Tubby bye-bye!