Brexit and British Bankruptcy, Ten Years Later

Ten years ago, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union was a potential opportunity. It could have allowed Britain to pivot and develop new rules and approaches to prosper as a highly educated, competitive economy in the world market. This transition to competitiveness, creativity, and British-centered policies which rejected the Brussels bureaucracy had happened once before.A generation earlier, in 1979, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher led the Conservative Party to a historic victory on a platform of dramatic reforms. Thatcher won three general elections. By the time she left office in 1990, the coal miners’ union had been tamed, much of the civil service had been reformed, many government-owned institutions had been privatized, and entrepreneurial free enterprise was at its high point in modern British history.Yet her successor, Prime Minister John Major, did not understand or believe in the level of dynamic entrepreneurial capitalism Thatcher was trying to create. He began the reversion to a higher tax, greater regulation, more establishment-defined Britain.The result was a steady decline in quality of life, economic competitiveness, and standard of living. By 2016, this expressed itself politically in a populist demand to leave the European Union. On June 23, 2016, in a historic vote, 51.9 percent of British voters supported the move to exit the European Union, better known as Brexit.Brexit was a moment of great opportunity, but also risk. Rather than a renewed commitment to the world market and greater competitiveness, it could have led to isolation and decay. Ironically, it occurred because a conservative prime minister, David Cameron, opposed it and thought it would fail.The contempt for the British people exhibited by Mr. Cameron’s cynical, manipulative approach of pretending to give the rebellious wing of his party the vote they wanted (while hoping and expecting it to lose) set the stage for the disaster which has been unfolding in Britain for the last ten years.Mr. Cameron had served as prime minister since 2010. When his maneuver failed, he stepped down. He was opposed to leaving the European Union and did not want to try to work through all the negotiations it made necessary.Mr. Cameron’s departure left Number 10 Downing Street open for a succession of prime ministers who proved incapable of using the Brexit vote as a starting point to turn Britain around. Four were Conservatives: Theresa May, between 2016 and 2019; Boris Johnson, between 2019 and 2022; Liz Truss, in 2022; and Rishi Sunak, between 2022 and 2024. The current Labour premier, Keir Starmer, has held the post since 2024 — although no one knows how long he can survive.All five have failed to slow down Britain’s decline. Indeed, their policies have weakened the economy, alienated a large part of the British people, and further undermined trust in government.None of these five was able to develop a vision of a dynamic competitive Britain that could provide better lives and greater prosperity for its citizens. Ms. Truss at least tried to develop a Thatcherite budget with a real push for dramatically lower taxes and greater entrepreneurial activity. She lasted 50 days.As someone who grew up with the heroic Britain that defied Adolf Hitler and rejoiced in Thatcher’s historic and courageous reforms, it is painful to watch the collapse of a country that was once the leading nation on the planet.The Labour government is proving itself incapable of reforming a failing system. Its conservative opposition is split into three parties — with none of them likely to emerge as a serious national force in the near term.The British people are watching their government grow weaker. They are watching civil liberties and free speech being crushed in defense of establishment values. They are watching a national establishment side with Muslim immigrants to create an anti-British government.The left wing of the Labour Party is committed to economically suicidal values — including a deliberate decision not to develop oil and gas resources available in the North Sea.The vote for Brexit did not cause any of these problems. They were already growing. In fact, the cost of these bad policies led to Brexit. The vote in 2016 for British Independence did not lead to bad policies.As someone who has steady admiration for the British contribution to self-government, the rule of law, and a willingness to stand up to evil, I consider the current British establishment a betrayal of everything which had made Britain great — especially when contrasted with another important recent British anniversary: Magna Carta was signed on June 15, 1215.Brexit could have triggered the turnaround. It didn’t. It is hard now to see how Britain’s current leaders can work their way out of the current cycle of decay — but repealing Brexit would achieve virtually nothing. Until Britain’s leaders decide to put Britain first again, it will continue down the spiral.

Brexit and British Bankruptcy, Ten Years Later

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