I do agree that the BBC has 'no God-given right to exist'

What holds together strong societies and healthy democracies? Today, I find more and more conversations are gravitating towards the growing threats to the very fabric of what makes a place like the UK such a civilised place to live.

- TIM DAVIE

As geopolitical tensions rise and technology rapidly reshapes our world, there is a palpable sense that we are going to have to fight to preserve what we value. Solutions require longer-term choices that stretch well beyond any single political cycle. They mean not only letting the market lead the way but making deliberate choices to create the society we want.

For the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, three main forces bind together successful democracies: strong institutions, shared stories, and social capital. Haidt argues that the current media landscape has weakened all three. It erodes social cohesion and rewards the divisive and inflammatory. It weakens political systems that are based on compromise.

We now have business models and political systems that profit from polarisation, and a burgeoning global industry of monetising offence. I say this not to criticise but simply to make the case that we should not drift to a point where only one model is allowed to dominate, at a cost to our civil discourse.

This feels particularly pressing in a record-breaking election year. Around 70 countries will go to the polls, representing half the world’s population. Meanwhile, we continue to witness serious conflict and instability in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere.