John Stewart argues that debates around blood supply to the NHS have been proxies for fundamental disagreements about the nature of British society, specifically whether it should operate on the basis of either altruism and solidarity or individualism and market forces.

Hugh Small argues that a new European version of NATO would be an inappropriate response to the conflict in Ukraine and the threat from Russia. The crisis has highlighted new technologies that change how war is waged. Another arms race would weaken Europe’s ability to withstand Russia’s encroachment. Europe needs to think in broader terms about its security, including reducing its current dependency on fossil fuels.

At a time of crisis for the History departments across the UK, the Institute of Historical Research has made available a unique archive of interviews with some of the profession’s leading post-war British scholars. Their reflections provide valuable evidence for importance of the discipline and the urgent need not only to defend it but to disseminate its values across society.

In stoking panic about an aging population, public figures such as Elon Musk are applying not just the concerns but the language of the past to an era in which they are increasingly obsolete. We need, argues Tom Heritage, a new language to take account of the current realities, one that breaks loose from the historical categorization of old age as a ‘social problem’.

Over the previous year, the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure (Campop) has been publishing a series of blog articles to mark the 60th anniversary of its foundation in 1964. They illustrate the rich legacy of Campop’s work and the urgent relevance of history to the policy process.

Dame Judith Hackitt, who chaired the Health & Safety Executive from 2007 to 2016, reflects on the conference History and Policy’s Trades Union and Employment Forum will be hosting on 25 November on the history of health and safety at work.