In 2024, the UK saw a general election and the US a presidential election - featuring Donald Trump as the Republican candidate. As we faced a tumultuous period in national and global politics, Durham Cathedral hosted a discussion with Nick Robinson, one of the country’s leading journalists, and Ed Balls, a former cabinet minister and economist turned commentator.
The key question addressed in this debate included: what does the future hold for democracy? The discussion touched upon why this cannot be taken for granted: polling showed that support for our system of government was at an historically low ebb, including among young people. In the UK, Brexit uncertainty, Covid-19 and ‘partygate’, and five prime ministers in seven years (including the shortest-serving in history) all impacted public confidence.
In the US, 2021 witnessed the storming of the Capitol Building in Washington, the seat of democratic government, whilst global politics had been marked by the rise of the ‘political strongman’, including Vladimir Putin of Russia, and increasingly autocratic and aggressive regimes.
This was a critical moment for democracy, in the UK and across the world at the time with the debate covering key issues on this topic.
Watch the debate
Read more about the speakers
