Britain stuck with the consequences of bungled Brexit and coronavirus response
- Britain could have painlessly left the EU with deals like Norway’s and Switzerland’s, but the arrogance of its political class let fantasies flourish long after the referendum and set a high price for blinkered English nationalism
Disturbing though it was, the near closure to the world of the United Kingdom on December 21, a mere 10 days before its exit from the European Union, was symbolic. Some might even call it poetic justice.
There is likely to be some sort of deal before January 1, but even if free merchandise trade continues, the additional paperwork and uncertainties from exiting the single market will weigh heavily on exports, which were weakening conspicuously even before the pandemic. As for service exports and the freedom to travel and work, the loss will put the more successful UK firms, institutions such as its top universities and most talented individuals at a huge disadvantage.
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As for the tens of thousands of British workers dependent on Japanese and other car export manufacturers, the future of investment and jobs remains clouded.
It is fitting that Prime Minister Boris Johnson presides over this national catastrophe. It must be recalled that much animosity towards the European Union was driven by fake news of the sort that Johnson himself created as a supposed journalist writing for a supposedly serious newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, when he was its correspondent in Brussels. Similar nonsense appeared in media controlled by Rupert Murdoch and others pandering to English chauvinism and nostalgia for long-past glories.
Johnson’s post-Brexit Global Britain sounds good, but that’s about it
Likewise, Brexiters would rather blame hardships of lower-income groups on Brussels than their own government’s policies responsible for huge income and regional gaps. In a minor way, the lead-up to Brexit was a reminder of how the slow drip of lies and exaggeration of a few genuine grievances enabled Adolf Hitler to convince many otherwise moderate, well-informed Germans of the justification for launching war against Poland.
Johnson crowed that with Brexit Britain could “have its cake and eat it”, imagining that there could be an equal treaty between one country and an EU whose solidarity seems to have been strengthened by British attitudes, with a population nearly seven times and an economy five times larger.
It was stupid enough to vote on Brexit without even discussing what kind of Brexit and its consequences. The vote was not even binding.
Once embarked, Britain could have done a painless exit with deals like those of Norway and Switzerland, but the sheer arrogance and ignorance of Britain’s political class enabled the fantasies to flourish for the 4½ years after the referendum. The price of blinkered English nationalism will be high.
Post-Brexit Britain free to pursue trade deals, including with China
Fellow Europeans now view the British either with pity or scorn for the final Brexit, an appropriate denouement to the world’s worst year since 1945.
This might yet prove a politically driven exercise, which will soon flag or be blocked by the money wall of lawyers who move between the commission and industry lobbies. The US has barely begun to protect privacy from voracious giants which it sometimes seems to regard as heroic national success stories, not the threats to competitive capital and democracy they have become.
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Philip Bowring is a Hong Kong-based journalist and commentator
