I’ve started to celebrate New Year early in solidarity with the people of Samoa (any excuse will do). Therefore, having imbibed a lot of the amber nectar (Irish Whiskey in my case), I’m fearlessly making 5 predictions for 2024.

1. Donald Trump becomes US President as many in the US start to realise that its global military hegemony is coming to an end. Ex-President Biden’s handlers do the decent thing and put him into a retirement home.
2. Sir Keir Starmer becomes head of a minority Labour Government. He is then forced to resign over a scandal involving his relationship with Israeli lobbyists and links to the ‘deep state’.
3. As Ukraine continues to lose in NATO’s proxy war against Russia, President Zelensky is assassinated by his own security services and Ukraine sues for peace with President Putin.
4. Israeli genocide in Gaza is stopped not by the US but by a failed invasion of Lebanon. Hezbollah shows the world that it is a formidable fighting force. The world starts to realise that a one-state solution, creating a democratic entity that offers full human rights to both Israelis and Palestinians is the future for both Israelis and Palestinians.
5. The future of autonomous driving is postponed for another decade and driver assistance using Artificial Intelligence becomes the hottest part of the tech sector. Seeing Machines is bought for 76.5p following a bidding war.

It only remains to wish all of you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!