Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood has warned that humanity is on a "dangerous trajectory", explaining that global insecurity is posing a threat to democracy.
In a comment piece for GB News, Ellwood called for politicians and economists to "shout louder" about the "symbiotic link between our economy and global security".
He explained: "The slow but inevitable collapse our Global Order will increasingly threaten our prosperity - unless our hard and soft power strengths are ungraded. But we fail to make the case and our defence posture remains unchanged.
"2023 was the year of warnings: Putin, far from mollified, has now moved his country to a war footing; the Middle East back on fire - with Iran pushing the envelope of its proxy power; and China, openly forging its alternative global order vision and coercing increased support from across the Global South.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood has warned that humanity is on a "dangerous trajectory"
PA
"And not forgetting it was the hottest year on record reminding us that extreme weather patterns, food and water security and the hunt for rare minerals to run our batteries, all add to a bleak era of insecurity.
"Sadly, such is the precarious state of our current global order, no single superpower, international alliance or global institution (ie the UN) has either the motivation or power to control events, put fires out and more widely alter the dangerous trajectory humanity is now on. By illustration, take events in Ukraine and Gaza."
He warned that next year's elections must not "overshadow the very real threat to global democracy itself", calling for Britain to take up a leading role in ensuring the West remembers its "sense of collective purpose".
The former chair of the Defence Select Committee wrote: "The responses to both conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza represent a deeper manifestation of the West’s diminishing inability to affect a global agenda that is being overtaken by a broader, more complex contest we must now treat as the successor to a post-Cold War Global order.
"2024 may indeed be an epic election year in which half the world goes to the polls. But in exercising an important democratic right it must not overshadow the very real threat to global democracy itself.
"We’re living history. Events are moving fast, power bases are changing, alliances are shifting, and international standards are eroding. The decisions made by leaders, electorates, dictators and non-state actors alike are likely to shape the decade ahead.
"A Trump victory would see America pull its support for Ukraine and possibly for Nato, as the leader of the Western world becomes more isolationist."
He added: "The role for Britain in challenging this global turbulence cannot be overstated.
"For a century, Britain has had the means, the desire and the statecraft to help shape the world.
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"Once again, we have leading role to play in preventing the West lose its sense of collective purpose.
"Will we rise to this challenge in an election year? I can only hope so. It is the economy – stupid. But only if your security is able to defend it."
