It has been a year marked by a lot of change in politics and global relations.
What stood out and what might happen next?
Sky News editors share their verdicts
Beth Rigby is a political editor
Sky News’ political editor since May 2019: I was initially excited about the possibility of seeing the handover of power. I did not expect to see three prime minsters pass Number 10 within four months. This gives you an idea of the chaos.
The word 2022 was permacrisis according to the Collins Dictionary. This basically refers to the feeling of living in a time of war, inflation and political turmoil.
Politically, the past 12 months were insane. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. However, you must place the political crisis within the context of global events.
It started with COVID and then it became War in Ukraine. What you can’t foresee is what might occur beyond domestic politics, which could somehow determine the era we live in.
From my perspective, we won’t have the same political chaos in 2023 as we did in 2022. You can’t ignore anything in this game. Let’s also see what happens at the May local elections.
Listen to Beth’s year-in-review podcast:
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Tom Clarke is a science and technology editor
It was a terrible year for climate. High temperatures in the UK reached 40C, Atlantic hurricanes and catastrophic floods in Pakistan made it a difficult year for climate change.
Even worse, the UK managed to ruin its international green reputation when it approved a new coal mine. This was our first in over 30 years.
The much-hyped visions for the metaverse of 2021 were almost all found to be lacking in Silicon Valley’s.
As cryptocurrency collapsed, confidence was shown in Elon Musk, a new reputable owner of Twitter.
However, major advancements in artificial intelligence such as OpenAI’s GPT3 and DeepMind’s AlphaFold remind us that tech still has the future.
As COVID began to retreat, 2022 proved the effectiveness of vaccines. One of the most important vaccine innovations in 2018 was the discovery of a vaccine that is up to 80% effective against Malaria, which was a huge advance in global health.
However, the avian flu, mpox and ebola outbreaks challenge any notion that we can let down our guard against future pandemics.
Listen to Tom’s year in review podcast:
Dominic Waghorn is international affairs editor
2022 was the year that everything changed.
It wasn’t just about the war in Ukraine. NATO effectively fights Russia using all its forces, except its own troops. This has enormous implications, however the war is over.
China’s current events could have even greater consequences. Xi Jinping has been crowned emperor in all but and will continue to hold that title indefinitely. He is a man who has a sense for destiny. He desires to see the world rebuilt in China’s image and replace the liberal order that prevailed under American hegemony after the Cold War.
The battle lines have been drawn between East and West. They were fought in Ukraine with arms, and diplomatically between the US and China. However, there are concerns that it could escalate to Taiwan. This state of affairs requires the most diplomatic approach.
Now, a titanic struggle is in full swing; democracy vs. autocracy, freedom vs. dictatorship. Diplomats and thinkers are involved, but there is also a battle on the streets in Iran and China.
It will determine the future of the world in which we live.
Listen to Dominic’s year in review podcast:
Ed Conway is an economics and data editor
It has been an exceptional year in many short-term as well as long-term ways.
It didn’t matter if it was What happened to Liz Truss or what happened in Ukraine.
Looking forward to 2023, however, I believe things will improve in so much as we have already – possibly even – passed inflation’s peak. We’ve likely passed the Bank of England peak rate, at which they are increasing interest rates. It’s possible that the recession is not as severe as it seems.
However, the concern is about how it’s being felt by particular households – particularly in terms of energy shortage. I don’t know what to do about it.
It’s not all bad. The world has huge potential to develop all these new technologies. Recent news has been about nuclear fusion. All of these are ways we can make the world cleaner, cleaner, and faster.
It takes some effort. It takes a lot to build and a lot more mining to get there.
Listen to Ed’s year in review podcast:
Rhiannon Mills, royal correspondent
The last three years have been extraordinary. There was the death of Prince Philip and everything that has happened to the Sussexes. And there were stories about Prince Andrew. It has been an emotional rollercoaster.
This was supposed to be a year of normalcy, with COVID restrictions being relaxed. The royals were able to go on tours again and get back to their normal lives. Many of us couldn’t have predicted the events and stories that unfolded.
People I spoke to in the palace said that there is a feeling of weariness, sadness, and possibly anger. Prince Harry was filmed with Meghan for their Netflix series.
There were efforts made to make them feel part of the Queen’s funeral. King Charles spoke to the nation about the Queen’s inexplicable ability to see the best in everyone.
It felt like they were saying “Look, We’re going to leave everything behind… we’re all going together as a family.” Then Harry and Meghan did this.
I was told by someone at the palace that in some ways the Queen’s family is being guided by a mantra: “Don’t look at your feet… Look to the horizon.”
Rhiannon’s year-in-review podcast:
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