2026: Liberation year

Last month we observed the pantomime on the world stage and this month, we have started a new year with a reality TV show in Davos, and darker events in Minneapolis. It’s beyond our pay grade to speculate on when normality might return, but we can hope. Meanwhile, we note a real cause for celebration: the liberation of ideas and actions in the world outside of the chaos in Washington. Europe is acting with more independence, standing up to US bullying on Greenland, and gradually taking over military support for Ukraine; Canada is doing trade deals with China; India, the world's most populous nation, is rapidly growing in economic importance, and the EU has signed the Mercosur agreement with Latin America to create

the world’s largest free trade area. These are signs that at least some world leaders are showing bold leadership to prevent the world slipping further into disorder, and safeguard vital business and trade activities.

In January the Industry Forum has already held a great roundtable on working more closely with India, and we also went outside our usual subject matter to discuss whether the UK now needs a system of proportional representation to safeguard political and economic stability. In February we will have a meeting to discuss the conclusions of our two-year look at the big military, democratic and economic threats facing Europe: we will also discuss organising a conference on this subject later in the year. Also, in February we will be meeting to discuss the implications of a circular economy for nature and business. Many more meetings are in the pipeline, and we are pleased to be welcoming new members joining the Forum.