What was the worst thing to happen in 2016?

In a tumultuous year, to say the least, it might be difficult to pick out your worst moment. But we asked our IBT columnists to do just that. From two shock results in the US election and the UK referendum, to the rise of the alt-right, the fall of Aleppo, and terrorist attacks around the world, it's safe to say we're all entering 2017 hoping for a better year.

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL: It was a dreadful year. On the political front, a toss-up between Trump and Brexit, both disasters. On the personal front, the death of my brother Donald.

MICHAEL TONER: By far the worst thing to happen in 2016 was the tragedy of Aleppo. Day after day, week after week, we watched helplessly as Russian and Syrian warplanes bombed and butchered without mercy, killing, maiming and traumatising civilians trapped in the ruins of their homes. And still the slaughter of this vile civil war goes on, while a divided UN Security Council is reduced to impotent hand-wringing.

LAURA BATES: Millions of people voting for an openly misogynistic, racist, xenophobic man to lead one of the most powerful countries in the world.

JAMES BLOODWORTH: Undoubtedly the continued rule of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. I think a lot of the events we've witnessed this year lead back to Assad, at least in part: Putin's new swagger, the refugee crisis, heightened terrorism, the electoral resurgence of the far-right, Trump, Brexit etc.

DANIEL HANNAN: The Brussels bombs, and the consequent sense that terrorism is no longer exceptional in Europe.

YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN: The Independent newspaper, one of this nation's best, closed and went online – the first big casualty of the new media landscape. Then Brexit, then the axis of evil, Putin and Assad, now Trump. Racism and ugly attitudes towards women became acceptable once again. A black cab refused to drive me to where I wanted to go. He said he wasn't taking foreigners that day. White middle class men – who already hold most of the power – also decided they were the real victims in an unjust world. Read Simon Jenkins's lament in the Guardian. It says it all.

JANE MERRICK: A crowded field, but the siege of Aleppo and the West's failure to help will damn this generation for years to come.

JIMMY LEACH: So much choice, so little time. Brexit will, I think, be a disaster for the UK and Europe. Donald Trump will be a disaster for the world.

GUYLINER: It's difficult to know where to begin, but if we're talking purely selfishly and on a personal level – which I'm wont to do most of the time – losing two big heroes like Caroline Aherne and Victoria Wood, and all their talent with them, felt desperately unfair.

INNA SHEVCHENKO: The legitimate fight against the power of the elites took the wrong direction. Old ideas have been falsely perceived as new ones. The failures and destructive effects of old ideas, as shown by history, have been deliberately ignored as they are once again presented as solutions and means of hope by political leaders. The result of these lies were Brexit, the outcome of the US presidential elections, and the threatening upcoming elections in Europe.