What global role should post-imperialist, post-Brexit Britain play? Can it reinvent itself in a way that convinces a population that is increasingly divided by education, age, race, location and inequality, let alone the wider world, that it can or should continue to seek to surpass its weight?
In his recent book, ‘Britain Alone – the Pathway from Suez to Brexit’, Philip Stevens, Director of the Financial Times Editorial Board, argues that Britain has struggled to identify its place for the past sixty years. He believes that successive governments have been unable to respond objectively and accept that Britain cannot remain ‘frozen in history’. This, he said, has led to a failure to honestly address its weaknesses, leading to ‘overlap’ and ‘constant refusal’ to align the perception of Britain’s position in the world and the diminishing resources of the UK. he can produce them ‘.