2023, farewell

We wish our subscribers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The daily briefing returns on 2 January.

As we come to an end of another year filled with no shortage of crises, perhaps we should start by reflecting on the fact that 2023 wasn’t simply a time of regression.

On the cost-of-living front, there’s been some tangible progress. This time last year, we headed into Christmas with inflation running at over 10 per cent during what was being labelled a new “winter of discontent” as the biggest wave of industrial action in over a decade gripped the country. 

While this so-called “advent calendar” of strike disruption continued well into the New Year, the vast majority of public sector pay disputes have now been settled. And, as of yesterday, encouraging data shows inflation has dropped to below 4 per cent, its lowest level in two years. 

Which means Rishi Sunak can take some comfort this Christmas in the fact that he has met at least one of his five key pledges – albeit the one which has the least to do with government policy.

It’s safe to say many of Sunak’s other pledges for the year lie in tatters. The small boats have very much not been “stopped” (who would’ve guessed) and NHS waiting lists, far from falling, have hit a new record high of 7.8 million. The enduring pay dispute with junior doctors is hindering efforts to tackle the backlog. Ending these strikes once and for all should certainly make it onto Sunak’s list of New Year’s resolutions. 

To the Prime Minister’s credit, he has at least made it past the one-year mark in office, which, in British politics these days, is not an achievement to be scoffed at. 

North of the border, 2023 was a year in which the public bid farewell to their leader. Nicola Sturgeon resigned in February, was briefly arrested in June and, from the moment she left office, left a trail of mess (and dubious receipts) in her wake. Since stepping down as SNP leader, her party has stumbled from one disaster to the next, hence the stunning Labour victory at the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election in October. 

In the world of geopolitics, 2023 has been a year of old wars and new. 

Crisis has been reignited in the Middle East. Israel contended with its version of 9/11 on October 7 after Hamas gunmen rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking a further 240 hostage. Israel’s government responded by vowing to destroy Hamas, and according to its military, has since killed an estimated 5,000 of 25,000 Hamas members. But civilians in the Gaza Strip have paid a devastating price. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s bombing campaign has killed over 20,000 Palestinians. Over 10,000 children have been killed, while some 25,000 have lost one or both of their parents. As of last week, Sunak and Starmer are both calling for a sustainable ceasefire. 

The war in Ukraine, meanwhile, grinds on. With Kyiv’s much-touted spring offensive achieving minimal gains and much of the world’s focus diverted to the Middle East, President Volodymyr Zelensky will spend the rest of the winter attempting to rouse western allies from their war fatigue. 

Also hanging over Ukraine, and indeed the entire world, is the very real possibility that, come next Christmas, Donald Trump will be back in the Oval Office. Trump has existed in a state of almost permanent prosecution for much of the year and yet every new indictment seems to have only widened his lead over his Republican rivals and President Biden too. The former US leader is as much as 50% ahead of any other Republican candidate.

Some colourful new characters have burst onto the global stage this year. Foremost amongst them is Argentina’s chainsaw-wielding new leader, Javier Milei, who has vowed to slay inflation – running at 160% in the South American nation – with his radical set of economic policies. Yet Ben Kwasnik writes in Reaction that we are already seeing signs that the self-described “anarcho-capitalist” is moderating. 

While the threat of China has persisted for the entirety of 2023, Washington-Beijing tensions have thawed ever so slightly in recent months. In Reaction, Tim Marshall explains the significance of Xi Jinping’s gesture to send panda bears to a San Diego zoo – animals which have long been a symbol of friendship of US-China friendship. 

The Collins Dictionary Word of the Year for 2023 is “AI” – and understandably so. Artificial intelligence has made big inroads into all walks of life this year – except in politics, says David Waywell, where there is still no sign of intelligence, artificial or otherwise. 

For a more amusing review of 2023, make sure to read the rest of David’s piece, where he renews his case that Barbie was the cleverest movie of the year, laments the demolition of Captain Tom’s Hot Aqua Spa and Holistic Shiatsu Treatment Centre and wishes a Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone except Russell Brand, Lizzo, Sam Bankman-Fried, Suella Braverman and Baroness Mone. 

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