‘The Commonwealth faces controversy, decline and irrelevance – except Charles and Keir can unite’

King Charles and PM Keir Starmer will have their work cut out to unite a fractious 56-nation Commonwealth.

The international organisation created out of Empire is dear to the heart of the monarch, as it was to his mother, the late Queen.

Yet from the row over slavery reparations to an inability to stage a full Commonwealth Games in 2026, the body is creaking.

Unless Charles and Mr Starmer can bring the members together and breathe fresh life into the Commonwealth, it faces controversy, decline and potentially irrelevance.

The King retains great respect in many capitals, so the future of the Commonwealth may be largely in his hands. But unless the PM resolves the slavery conflict, it could mushroom into a major crisis. The past is catching up with Britain, and will shape the future.

Triple threat

Elon Musk’s reported secret contacts with Vladimir Putin will set alarm bills ringing for democrats around the world.

The planet’s richest man, championing Donald Trump and cosying up to the Moscow dictator, completes a unholy trinity of dangerous authoritarian nationalists.

Musk’s Space X and military and intelligence interests make him valuable to Putin.

The conspiracy theories and fake news that Musk peddles on his social media site X are useful for both Trump and Putin.

If it is proved Putin asked Musk to avoid activating his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan as a favour to Chinese tyrant Xi Jinping, the number of serious questions would escalate dramatically.

Musk, Trump and Putin are a threat that must be exposed and stopped.

Best bar none

Rob Cocker has visited 12,000 boozers during a massive pub crawl that began 55 years ago when he was 18.

The Stoke dad is a special brew after going as far as Oban and Land’s End for a quick half.