On politics, government, and the institutions of public life.
28 essays
A 2025 review of authority, trust, coherence and attention—plus a strategic outlook for 2026 on AI governance, provenance, regulation and decision quality. What to prioritise, what to ignore, and why clarity beats theatre.
When corporate messaging detaches from operational truth, it becomes performative and ethically brittle. Leaders risk symbolic overreach, middle managers amplify unreality, and organisational silence sets in. The application of ethics and discernment offers a way to tether narrative to fact, reward
Hype disconnects speech from reality and shields actors from the consequences of their decisions. Hype becomes not just a linguistic trend but an institutionalised habit of avoidance. When managers are no longer accountable for what they say—because what they say has no anchor in meaning—they become
Negotiators sometimes exploit offence to manipulate opponents, provoking anger or indignation to gain leverage. While this can yield short-term gains, it often damages trust and backfires. Historical figures like Napoleon and Churchill used calculated insults, while modern cases—Trump, Musk—demonstr
Leadership cannot be reduced to neat models. Simple frameworks miss the deeper dynamics between leaders, followers, and purpose. While styles vary by context, effective leaders rely on consultative, supportive behaviours that build psychological safety and sustain long-term growth.
Successful DEI comes down to balance—ensuring that belief doesn't descend into ideology. A process that is founded on the bedrock of psychological safety.
No matter which way you look at it, police popularity seems to be at something of a low ebb with even the usually excoriated politicians enjoying something of a bump in the polls when compared to the men and women in blue.
There is the case to be made that this is not only the cost of doing business in the digital age but that, like environmental protections, there are great rewards to be reaped in improved quality of life.
We do well to live and let live, we also do well to post and let post. Devote what limited energy we are gifted with to thought and the formulation of our views and let the 'reply guys' reply. They are, generally, all sound and fury signifying nothing.
Rage if you will and burn screen time if you like—I simply accept if I want my thoughts to be personal and private then I ought not post them online.
So long as we keep our heads while all around are loosing theirs, never dwelling too long on exaggerated threats, we are in a position to muddle through.
As late as 2015 in Great Britain, Royals who married Catholics were removed from the line of succession, and Prime Ministers avoided disclosing their Catholicism in office.
Those of us who believe in the merits of conservatism, the road ahead is one on which it is more important than ever to start calling ourselves conservatives.
The design of the CR III cipher was produced by the College of Arms and continues a tradition of heraldry that has bound individual monarchs to the institution of monarchy for over a thousand years.
Today's Russia is pursuing the same aims as in 1946: autarchy for Russia and Russian-dominated adjacent areas by a leader, under pressure from nationalistic backers, who has miscalculated the situation.