Britannia Unchained or Britannia Unhinged

 For me it is both sad and disturbing to see my nation, the UK, being humiliated by the current economic crisis. The money markets and the IMF have dictated to the UK what to do. And that is to reverse the economic policies of the so called mini-budget. The UK prime minister was  forced then to sack her Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chancellor was acting under the authority of the Prime Minster who was equally as responsible for the mini-budget  failure. The budget failed because it could not balance the books by increasing public sending and promising tax cuts .The Prime Minister and her Chancellor were joint authors of a book written in 2012: Britannia Unchained. The book promulgated libertarian economic policies such as deregulation, low taxes and completely free market policies which would lead to economic growth and which would lead  Britain to become a 1st rate world power again. Unfortunately economic life does not work out that way: deregulation does not work as it leads to financial scandal, polluted rivers and costal waters, poor food standards and runaway global heating. Lower taxes have not really been proven to promote economic growth. The only place in the world where there was absolute "free trade" was the European Single Market and we left it.

Britannia Unchained was a pipe dream which has now lead to Britannia Unhinged. Britannia has  completely lost its economic sovereignty, and  much of its political power.

And now what of the future? Of course, no state which operates within international markets can afford not to balance the books. Financial stability is key if a government is to fund its activities by borrowing from the international markets. Before the mini-budget the UK was on the way down economically. Leaving the EU has reduced the GDP potential, of the UK, by 5.7%  and it has reduced investment in the UK economy by 13.7%. Worst still, since leaving the EU the UK balance of payments deficit has worsened to 7% of GDP; this is unsustainable. The UK is having to borrow more and more to keep its head above water. A crisis was coming mini-budget or not, but the mini-budget hastened its arrival, and more Brexit related privations await us if we do not change course.

It looks as though the new Chancellor has stopped some of the financial rot but the additional costs of the financial excesses will cause more difficulties for the poor and middle income citizens who will have to pay much more for their energy, food, rent and interest payments while receiving very little tax relief. A governmental disaster has been averted, but it  will turn into a  personal disaster for many of our citizens. Further instability, for the UK, in the financial markets, will be expected if politicians thwart the Chancellor in his efforts to balance the books.

Economic growth does not just depend upon balancing the books, it requires the economy to be vibrant, and it depends upon exports of goods and financial services. Our exports provide the cream to top a stable and  financially  balanced economy. Our industries require new ideas and new skills  and an entrepreneurial spirit to compete in international markets. We require cooperation with our friends and allies. The ideas contained in Britannia Unchained have failed, as many of these ideas inspired the failed ideology of  Brexit.

How can we find hope of better economic prospects ? Well, one idea would be to re-join the single market and pool our sovereignty with other nations to our mutual benefit. Joining the single market would solve many problems. It would encourage growth and investment, and Britain would be invited to join the Horizons project. There would be no need for the Northern Ireland protocol as the trading rules for Ireland and the UK would be the same. By ditching the protocol we could establish better relations with the US and achieve a trade deal with them. Scotland would be less likely to vote for independence if we join the Single market. We could go one step further and rejoin the Customs Union, so that we could benefit from the new EU -USA partnership which is under negotiation. The EU might even gives us a veto over Customs Union negotiations.

It is time to admit that leaving the EU has contributed to our economic failures and contributed to our national humiliation and loss of sovereignty. The Prime Minister has had the courage to admit her mini-budget mistakes, but will she and her cabinet colleagues and the UK opposition party admit that it was a mistake to leave the EU. Unfortunately I doubt it, so economic stagnation and further humiliations await.