By Claire Hutchison

THIS year has been a whirlwind of unstable politics, feminism, revolution, fallen idols, tragedy and downright stupidity. The Sunday Herald looks back on 2017 and decides who have been the real heroes and villains of the year.

Hero

1. Grenfell residents and firefighters

The Grenfell disaster on June 14 killed 71 people and affected hundreds more. Firefighters rescued 65 people from the building. The 27-storey tower block in West London contained a wealth of cultures and communities. Six months on and many survivors are still living in limbo – 320 households are in hotels. Hundreds of survivors stood up against Kensington and Chelsea Borough council demanding justice. The residents of Grenfell – and those who braved the flames and carnage to rescue them from the blaze – are the true heroes of 2017.

Villain

1.Trump

The Donald has definitely been the most notorious villain of 2017 – possibly of the 21st century. This year he created the Muslim travel ban, pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and launched an air strike on Syria – all whilst retweeting racist videos and going on an office firing spree. His cartoon like appearance and outlandish remarks paint him as the perfect Hollywood villain. But the more we ridicule his actions and view him as a caricature, the more we forget how insidious he really is.

Hero

2. The people of Manchester

On May 22 a terrorist attack on Manchester Arena killed 23 people and injured over 100 others. This incident devastated the nation. The people of Manchester did everything they could to help. Local woman, Paula Robinson, collected around 50 young girls and took them to safety. Taxi drivers provided free rides home for concert-goers. Hundreds of people queued up to give blood the next day. Homeless man, Chris Parker, held a woman in his arms as she died. The solidarity and determination of Manchester’s residents was admirable during such a dark and evil time.

Villain

2. Social Media

2017 was the year social media became Frankenstein’s Monster. It was alleged that groups linked to Russia had bought thousands of adverts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Gmail to influence the 2016 US election. This created an echo chamber of alt-right propaganda. Social media moguls are even admitting that they did not intend for the platform to become the omnipotent force that it is today.

Hero

3. Women

2017 was the year of women. The take down of Weinstein started the #MeToo movement. Half a million women worldwide used the hashtag to discuss sexual assault and harassment they had faced. Women’s rights marches were initiated around the world and many public figures were held accountable for their actions.

Villain

3. Weinstein

The toppling of Weinstein was the modern day equivalent to the story of David and Goliath. In October, the New York Times outed the producer as a alleged serial sex abuser. Almost 100 women have accused him of sexual harassment or assault and his previously untouchable reputation is in tatters. This was the driving force for an avalanche of women’s marches and sexual harassment allegations against other public figures.

Hero

4. Malala Yousafzai

Five years ago, Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban after campaigning for girls in Pakistan to be educated. This August, she was accepted to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University. Yousafzai, the UN Messenger of Peace, is the youngest ever person to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Villain

4. Childhood poverty

A quarter of Scotland’s children are living in poverty. The rise in poverty over the last year has been described as “devastating” by charities. This has led to poor mental and physical health in children and low attainment in schools.

Hero

5. James John McGeown

Earlier this month a homeless man in Glasgow stopped a stranger's £450 from being stolen. McGeown noticed the money was inside a car with an open window. He stood by the car for hours, waiting for the owner to return. The owner was extremely grateful and set up a Go Fund Me page for McGeown and the homeless community in Glasgow. So far, over £17,000 has been raised.

Villain

5. Kim Jong-Un

Another prominent figure of 2017, for the wrong reasons. Throughout the year, “Little Rocket Man”, as Trump dubbed him on Twitter, has continually dangled the threat of nuclear war over the US – and the rest of the world. North Korea is equipped with nuclear, biological, chemical and cyber weapons. Despite being one of the world’s most famous supervillains, surprisingly little is actually known about Kim Jong-un and his agenda.

Hero

6. Grime

In the British music industry, 2017 has been the year of grime. #Grime4Corbyn was a campaign that vastly influenced Corbyn’s success in the General Election, by gaining the youth vote. The figure head of this campaign was grime artist, JME. The 2017 election turnout of 18-24 year olds was the highest in 25 years – at 69 per cent. This year, Stormzy also released the first-ever Grime album to reach Number 1 in the UK. During his acceptance speech for Solo Artist of The Year at the GQ Men of the Year awards he called Theresa May a "paigon" (an untrustworthy person).

Villain

6. Plastic

By 2050, the oceans are expected to have more plastic than fish. Thanks to the popularity of Blue Planet II, the public is more aware of how plastic is killing marine life. The UK ban on microbeads was finalised this July. However, currently, the nation only recycles 1/3 of plastic.

Hero

7. Carles Puigdemont

In October, the Catalan Parliament declared independence from Spain – with 92 per cent of voters the referendum in support. This vote was outlawed by the Spanish government. Catalan, with a unique language, culture and industry, has had a growing independence movement for hundreds of years. Puigdemont, now in exile in Brussels, is likely to begin negotiations to form a government in January.

Villain

7. Arlene Foster

May’s disastrous snap election resulted in the Conservatives partnering up with the DUP. Their leader, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, opposes same-sex marriage and freely available abortions. In 2016, her green energy scheme overspent its budget and cost the Northern Irish taxpayer £490 million – as well as being allegedly corrupt.

Hero

8. Paisley

It became the first-ever town to be shortlisted for the UK city of culture. Though Coventry took the crown, the Buddies put up a good fight and 40 per cent of them engaged with the event. The town was the underdog in the bid, with a population of only 77,000. Paisley contains the most deprived area in Scotland and one-in-three children live below the poverty line. However, the future looks bright. A town that once produced 90 per cent of the world’s sewing yarn is fashioning a new story.

Villain

8. Aung San Suu Kyi

She had been viewed as an iconic humanitarian and is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The first State Counsellor of Burma also suffered decades of house arrest. This year, however, the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma came to light. It is thought that hundreds of thousands have been raped, tortured and murdered. Aung San Suu Kyi is refusing to comment and it is unclear whether or not she has been directly involved in the alleged genocide. By doing nothing about it she has at least been involved indirectly.

Hero

9. Danica Roem

In November, Roem became the first transgender person to be elected to the House of Delegates in Virginia. She replaced the former Republican delegate Bob Marshall, who had sponsored the "bathroom bill" which would have restricted transgender people's access to public toilets. Supporters from the LGBT community across the US raised almost $500,000 towards Roem's campaign.

Villain

9. Kevin Spacey

Following the Weinstein allegations and the #MeToo movement, Spacey was accused of sexual harassment by numerous individuals. Spacey was previously very well respected in the acting world and was deemed to be untouchable. Since the allegations surfaced, many projects – including House of Cards – have dropped him and UK police are investigating allegations about him.

Hero

10. Richard Henderson

In October, the winners of the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry were announced. These men: Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson were jointly awarded the prize for developing a living molecule imaging technique. Henderson became the fourteenth Scot to win a Nobel Prize. The team’s development of cryo-electron microscopy will allow scientists to look at the inner workings of a cell, in real time. This will improve the techniques used to study diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Villain

10. Fracking

In October, Scotland announced a complete ban on the controversial process of oil and gas extraction. A moratorium on fracking had been in place since 2015. Fracking has been linked to pollution, low birth weights in babies and earthquakes.