Brexit was supposed to restore sovereignty to Britain and its former status as a global trading powerhouse. As it is, it will achieve neither goal, rather the opposite. Cut loose from the European bloc, it is fast becoming no more than a vassal state of the United States. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s latest visit to London, where he was acting like a plenipotentiary, speaks volumes about the future of Britain on the world stage. Countries were supposed to be lining up to seal trade deals with Britain. No such queue has materialised, while relations with its best trading prospect, China, have soured. Pompeo had previously made it clear to Westminster that it was either the US or China. Put that way, Britain never had a choice. His visit was a pat on the head of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for making the right “choice”. During Pompeo’s visit, British officials admitted that a trade pact with the European Union was unlikely and future terms of trade would have to rely on those of the World Trade Organisation. Meanwhile, the wording of Pompeo’s praise for Britain’s recent actions against China gives the game away. “You have made a sovereign decision to ban Huawei from future 5G networks,” he said. Actually, this was a big U-turn for Johnson as Washington made it clear it was the US or Huawei. “You have joined other free nations to condemn China’s broken promises on the Sino-British treaty,” Pompeo said. But isn’t the Sino-British Joint Declaration a bilateral treaty? Somehow the Americans have hijacked it and now serve as its arbitrator. If it weren’t for its title, you might think Britain was incidental to the treaty. Pompeo urges Britain to work on new approach to China Pompeo went on: “You generously opened your doors to Hongkongers who … are fleeing for freedom. And you suspended your extradition treaty and extended your arms embargo on China to Hong Kong itself. We support those sovereign choices, we think well done.” You really have to wonder: of all the really unfortunate peoples around the world, Pompeo spends a lot of time publicly fretting about the welfare of Hongkongers for reasons that are entirely transparent and amusing to the cynical observer. America’s top undiplomatic diplomat does use the word sovereign one too many times, drawing attention to something that Washington is quickly co-opting. Perhaps post-Brexit Britain will find glory under the wings of America. But even Johnson himself can’t believe that.