Society

Tony Blair's new essay on Labour's future is uncomfortable reading. Some question whether his voice still matters. But he has nothing left to protect, which is precisely why his argument – whatever you think of the man – deserves to be taken seriously.

King Charles's address to Congress was months in the making – a carefully crafted collaboration between Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and the Foreign Office. But the most interesting question isn't what he said. It's how the speech was made.

A small gesture, easily overlooked. A raised hand, a brief nod, a moment of acknowledgement. Not required, rarely noticed, but quietly meaningful – a reflection on courtesy, presence, and how we choose to show up.

AI agents can organise tasks, analyse information and navigate digital systems with impressive autonomy. But when they reach the limits of the digital world, they still need humans to observe reality. A reflection on the emerging role of people as sensors in an age of agentic AI.

Human-centred AI puts people before technology. But what happens when artificial intelligence begins shaping decisions in war? A reflection on ethics, responsibility and human judgement in an age of machine-assisted conflict.

The Peter Mandelson scandal is easy to treat as political theatre. Gordon Brown says it’s a system problem – abuse of power enabled by weak transparency. His fixes: public hearings, an anti-corruption commission with teeth, tougher lobbying rules and curbs on second jobs.

As geopolitical uncertainty grows, trust is retreating inward. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer shows how insularity is reshaping leadership, communication, and cooperation – and why leaders are now expected to broker trust, not force alignment.

X has crossed a line it cannot uncross. This is no longer a debate about moderation or free speech trade-offs, but about predictable harm enabled by design. When a platform becomes ethically indefensible, outrage is not enough – walking away matters.