At the start of the new year, I thought it might be interesting to look back and reflect on a year that has certainly presented certain challenges to the stability of the UK, European and World political, social and economic systems. In July 2024, the UK saw its first change in Government - to Labour - in 14 years. Even the most die-hard supporters of the outgoing administration would attest to the last few years of Conservative rule being rather shambolic. The endeavours of the incoming administration to rebalance the books through taxation have been largely pilloried in the press and seemingly energised the Reform Party.
Some elements of the whole European project are being put to the test through a lurch to the right and an increase in a political agenda that wants to exclude immigrants and give greater powers to its leaders. The political challenges in France & Germany – the pillars of the European project - have resulted in some commentators suggesting that the entire EU project is in jeopardy, and this will be further impacted by the tariffs being threatened by the incoming administration in the US. In his piece in the Guardian on 20 November, Shahin Vallée a senior research fellow at the German Council of Foreign Relations stated that the ‘Current economic uncertainty surrounding European competitiveness is provoking a very nationalistic reflex in both countries’ and Vallée also references the deterioration in the relationship between the two key leaders in Macron & Scholz. All this whilst the UK is seeking some sort of reset with the EU which whilst welcomed by many in the UK is going to be tortuously difficult to implement.
It is impossible to look at the world in 2025 without mentioning Donald Trump, whose protectionist agenda suggests that the US economic and social systems will undergo significant change in the next 4 years, with certain commentators stating that as it’s Trump's 2nd term, he will push through his agenda in double quick time. I do wonder how the huge numbers of people Trump is planning to "send back home", will impact those wealthy Americans who rely on their labour in their houses and offices.
I joined Scotwork in early 2021 and, at that time, we were seeing signs on the back of the ‘Me Too’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’ movements that the world was nudging towards embracing greater tolerance, collaboration and open-mindedness, which are at the heart of how Scotwork views as the right approaches for negotiators, however the above suggests that the pendulum is swinging back the other way.
Conflicts continue to exist and endorse our view that negotiation is only one of several ways of resolving conflict. The current headwinds suggest that the place for negotiation based on constructive dialogue, building trust and collaborative engagement will be put under some pressure in the near term, however, it is important to remain optimistic.
Scotwork is celebrating 50 years in existence in 2025 and we have much to be proud of and the demand for our services continues unabated. On behalf of Scotwork UK, I wish all our readers and their families the very best for 2025 and beyond.
