Populist governments don't work

Populist governments don't work and history shows that they never work. They don't work because they lead the populace, that voted for them, up the garden path and they make promises that cannot be kept. They are usually completely inept and they select inept yes-men to implement their daft policies without question.

The general population does not have either the time or inclination to research policy options. They do not have the time to analyse contradictions or misinformation. They elect governments to do this job for the them: to make sensible decisions and to lead the people to support policies which benefit the nation.

In the UK we now have a government which is inept, decadent and lazy. We have seen how badly it has managed the Covid 19 health crisis. It has fouled up the purchase of protective equipment, it imposed lockdown restrictions too late, it was indecisive and has made a complete mess of testing and tracing. Britain will be lucky to avoid a national 2nd wave of infections as it has not even stamped out the first wave. It is possible that the lockdown will have been released too early with costly consequences.

The US has had similar problems with its management of the Covid 19 crisis but it still has a long way to go before the deaths per 100,000 rate equals that of the UK: likewise, Brazil. Britain has been exceptional in Europe by the way it has failed to control the virus; the deaths in France, Spain and Italy were shocking but they were nothing compared to Britain. Britain is literally the sickman of Europe.

Soon the UK civil service will be reformed to make it much more political. Reasonably competent administrators will be replaced by yes-men who will fawn over their political masters, these sycophants will preside over an administrative mess. The UK has left the EU and will now require a government and administration to have the ability to improve the economy and its productive capacity. It needs to negotiate realistically with future trade partners to improve the standard of living of all Britons. It needs to protect its farming and fishing industries. The UK  needs to protect the NHS and provide it with sufficient competent staff; to do this it may have to rely on migrant labour. The UK needs to protect its service industries and ensure that they have export markets. Britain needs to co-operate with its European partners in science ,education, the protection of the environment and foreign policy.

To recover from the pandemic caused economic crisis Britain needs to co-operate with its nearest neighbours: to improve  prospects it needs to stay in the single market and probably in the customs union as well. The UK  risks being pushed around by the EU, the US, China and now Japan. I did not think Japan would issue trade ultimatums to the UK but they have just informed the British government that they want a new trade arrangement to be agreed within the next 3 months - will this be in Britain's favour? Who will push Britain around next,India?

I would love to live in a completely sovereign country as would everyone else. This is simply not possible, Britain has signed treaties with Nato, the WTO, the UN  and other international bodies - all of which limit sovereignty. Trading with the rest of the world on WTO terms will damage the economy; it would be far better to be in the Single Market and Customs Union which will protect Britain's commercial interests.  Britain could probably negotiate observer status on the European Council to put forward its point of view. It might be able to negotiate a veto over new trade agreements negotiated by the customs union - that would be just. The UK could probably negotiate an independent legal body to judge legal disputes. The EU would probably be able to compromise on this. Britain could even negotiate equal status over foreign policy and security decisions. We should try all of this instead of engaging in "dog in the manger" populism.

The UK has  left the EU and it won't be let back in, in a hurry; when things go wrong it will be own its own.

Planning the future and managing the transition out of the EU is a thousand times more complicated than ensuring an adequate supply of protective equipment for health workers and organising a test and trace system for Covid 19 victims. So far this populist government has failed you. What chance is there of them making a success of Brexit? There is a real danger that Britain will again become the economic sickman of Europe, hopefully the populists will change course, but I doubt it. You have voted for a rough ride.