It's the Northern Ireland protocol, let's not show ourselves to be stupid

The British government has badly mis-calculated, its foreign policy. It has allowed itself to be sidelined by Brexit. It has given way to the clamour of a substantial minority of the British public for their nation to act with complete independence when it is not possible to do so. Brexit is a severe diplomatic problem. The UK has upset the European Union, China and the USA. Brexit was always a stupid idea which will not have any long term benefit for our country. 

There is no point upsetting the US by not implementing the Northern Ireland protocol in its entirety. The US helped Britain to organise the peace in the province. It is not just the US president who supports the protocol but both sides of Congress too. Equally, there is no point in upsetting the EU over this issue. Britain could end up friendless, diminished and powerless to influence world events, and this would be a great shame.

Citizens who truly support their country should see the need not to upset their best friends. They should also be realistic about what their country can and cannot do. Britain is no longer a world power that can act alone. It needs allies and friends to work with. It should have been glad to share its sovereignty with its closest neighbours in Europe. We need to do this for our economy, our peace and security and to manage the climate crisis. One day the electorate of Britain will see that Brexit was a mistake. If we offend our neighbours they might not let us rejoin the club. We also upset the US at our peril, it is time for a change of attitude. Britain is a much better country when it gets involved with and co-operates with its greatest friends.