A fast start to the year makes it important to find time to make sense of events and what they mean for us.
Headlines scream chaos at us. Donald Trump’s statements this week alone – on Greenland, threats of increased tariffs, slurs against NATO troops and peace boards with Putin – are enough to make the head spin. And maybe that’s the point.
We can’t know what this means for the global economy, security and the values that many world leaders seemed to share until recently.
Canadian PM Mark Carney’s incredible speech at Davos highlights a ‘rupture’ in these values. His call to other ‘middle countries’ to become beacons in ‘a world that’s at sea’ resonates. Canada’s response to Trump’s aggression – on taxes, investment, defence spending, and closer partnerships with Europe – seem hugely impressive set against the trivia served up here.
Could it be a defining moment? If you have 15 minutes, I’d recommend watching it.
The rupture Carney speaks of has been a long time in coming. Now it’s here, addressing it feels like the biggest collaboration challenge of my lifetime.
The collaboration challenge
Ah, good old collaboration: the darling of panel discussions everywhere.
Everyone speaks earnestly about its importance. Everyone wants to do it, until trade-offs cause commitment to wobble. Announcements of strategies and partnerships too often masquerade as action. And frustration and mistrust build as progress slows.
It’s why relationships built on trust matter. And it presents city regions with an imperative to make collaboration work to support their economies and improve people’s lives.
I attended a parliamentary reception last Thursday hosted by the Growing Together Alliance – a business collective with the aim to drive good growth through collaboration.
Attendees heard MPs, regional and business leaders speak about how groups of innovative businesses (aka clusters) can thrive amidst the chaos.
The prize for places who take this seriously is big: purposeful, active business networks anchored in places who employ local people for the long-term.
“Economic growth is a national priority, and regional clusters are critical to delivering it,” Labour MP Dame Chi Onwurah said at the event.
“Innovation has driven wealth creation across the western world, but that growth has not been evenly shared. We cannot allow the next generation to be poorer than the one before it.”
Regions like the West of England, she added, are the most obvious place to drive growth.
Strong leaders needed
As I write, the tension between regional leadership and national government plays out in real time. Labour’s ruling body has just blocked Andy Burnham’s attempt to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Whatever this means for Keir Starmer, I think it’s a shame that Burnham wanted to step down as Greater Manchester’s mayor to run for parliament.
As someone who’s made a big name railing against the Westminster bubble over the last decade, his statement highlights the constraints on what mayors can do.
But as global and national politics remain in a state of flux, great things can happen quickly in city regions. Through strong partnership working and a clear narrative, Burnham has showed what’s possible in his role despite the challenges.
Where things get built. How people live, learn and get around. The strength of connection between business and civic leaders who work together to champion a place. Local leaders and businesses have a vital role to play here.
As headlines keep spinning, this feels like a defining test for 2026. Through our work with bodies like Business West, I’m looking forward to addressing the challenge.