In the graphic novel ‘Ministry of Space’, an alternate history is imagined whereby Great Britain nabs the Nazi rocket scientists before the US or USSR. Churchill becomes, in addition to his other (real) accolades and achievements, the father of the British space programme that sees us win the space race. There is a particularly poignant […]
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, have called for increased regulation of AI to slow down the pace of development. They warn in apocalyptic terms of the dangers their own technology poses. After Jacob Coxon, a researcher, resigned from Anthropic, stating that he could no longer justify working on AI […]
We live in an age of rapid economic change. New technologies are having an impact on the world that was unthinkable a generation ago; and industries are more mobile than ever, meaning that supply chains get reshaped, new centres of growth emerge and we see the resulting shifts in the balance of economic power. Yet […]
It’s been reported that officials in the Trump administration have given their UK counterparts a dressing-down over the Online Safety Act and the social-media ban for under-16s. As someone who previously worked on digital trade for the UK government, this does not surprise me. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have seen British laws such […]
This week, Nimby Watch is on its way to Edgware – but it’s taking the long route… Ummm…where are we? Because I’m going to be honest, this doesn’t look too familiar… Well, for now, we’re in the West Bank, the larger of the two territories that make up Palestine – the other, of course, being […]
This week saw a south-Atlantic gale of outrage after Argentina’s chainsaw-wielding President Javier Milei repeated his country’s entirely bogus claim to the Falkland Islands, with President Donald Trump twisting the knife by saying the USA’s view of the issue was ‘under review’. It came just weeks after Argentina’s footballers brandished a ‘Malvinas’ banner at the […]
Last week, I met my friend Becky for coffee in Buenos Aires. Becky lives on Las Malvinas and, unsurprisingly, calls them ‘the Falklands’. I never do, of course. After nearly ten years in Argentina, I have learned to discuss this particular subject in something closer to a stage whisper. Hearing the ‘F’ word spoken at […]
Late on August 28, trade talks between Canada and the United States broke down, an escalation in the trade war that the Trump administration began with Canada in early 2025. This escalation isn’t because Canadians favour tariffs as much as the US president, but because they refuse to quietly acquiesce to American demands. It might […]
Ukraine has recently stepped up its campaign of long-range missile and drone attacks against Russian critical infrastructure. Last week, after confirmation that some of the drones used in these operations were British-made, the Kremlin attempted to intimidate the new Prime Minister away from continued support for Ukraine by warning of ‘consequences’. Russia accused the United […]
President Trump’s imposition of ‘economic D-Day’ against Iran – a series of sanctions against any nation dealing financially with Iran, as well as banks and businesses – has already been dismissed by the usual suspects whose knee jerk response is always to attack any new measures against the Tehran regime. When it comes to Iran, […]
There is a long-standing maxim in broadcasting: always assume the mic is hot. In other words, if you are within range of a microphone, work on the basis that you are being recorded and exercise the appropriate level of discretion and confidentiality. Over the past 10 or 15 years, it has become clear that this […]
Keir Starmer will be packing his suitcases and selecting his travel outfit for his visit to Beijing later this week, the first for a British premier since Theresa May in January/February 2018. Like his predecessor, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by a substantial delegation of business and trade leaders, as well as the Chancellor […]
Events across the pond in recent months have ignited a much-needed debate in Britain on how this nation fits into the new world order. This has already been analysed in various articles and by international relations experts, so I won’t add verbose commentary, other than to summarise: the post-1945 world order, built on international law, […]
Just over two years on from one of the worst attacks on Jews since the Holocaust, and the beginning of a conflict that has left Gaza in ruins, it looks as though a semblance of peace may be brought to the Middle East. Under the terms of a ceasefire deal brokered by Donald Trump, the […]
For more than three years, Ukraine has been ravaged by the bloodiest conflict on the European continent since the Second World War. The outcome of this war will have significant ramifications for the security of all Europeans, yet we are not even at the negotiating table. We are relegated to the status of helpless bystanders, […]
More than 800 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty over recent decades – not through wealth redistribution, but through access. Access to trade, to capital, to technology and to opportunity. That’s what open markets enabled. Imperfect, yes – but transformational nonetheless. And Britain – as the birthplace of modern free trade – […]
When the Prime Minister stood at his lectern outside UK Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood to announce his mind-boggling Chagos giveaway last week, he adduced one point into his argument with even more studied earnestness than usual. In an increasingly dangerous world, Starmer claimed, ‘Russia, China, Iran’ opposed the agreement – and therefore his deal […]
While the world has been focussing its attention on Ukraine and Gaza, potentially the most dangerous flashpoint of all has received insufficient attention: India versus Pakistan and the dispute over Kashmir. Equally, many media hours have been devoted to Donald Trump’s latest folie de grandeur, a new plane courtesy of the Qataris. In recent weeks, […]
We are living in a world of profound confusion. Despite many of our best wishes, Donald Trump’s promise of a trade war was no April Fools’ Day prank. The follies were merely postponed. ‘History repeats itself,’ wrote Marx: ‘the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.’ Tariffs may prove him right, though the […]
The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the US Congress – and in the American body politic writ large – to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners […]
In a video-call address to a summit being held in Kyiv on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a further package of UK assistance to Ukraine accompanied by additional sanctions. He said the aim was to increase pressure on Vladimir Putin to make concessions in peace talks, declaring: Russia […]
If you need to hold a summit, Paris comes highly recommended: since the peace conference which produced the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, there have been at least four similar major meetings in the French capital. It was natural enough, then, that European leaders responded to President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation and converged on Paris on […]
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