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Is Britain better off after Brexit?

There have been a number of reports that state that either the country is better off or worse off.  Right now in 2026 it is clearly worse off.   It stands alone with no allies, the dream of the Brexiters was that Britain would stand on its own two feet, and become a middle power courted by Europe and by the United States, plus they could get rid of all these pesky foreigners (which they never met…)

The truth is complex, right now Britain is worse no doubt about it.  The economy is slowing faster than Europe and there is no lifeline from the Americans.  However, this is not a game of football, there is no end in sight to the process.  Europe has some massive challenges, already Italy, and Portugal are seeing the ravages of a falling population.  Germany has been better at hiding the impact, but they too face massive problems.  The truth of Europe is that it is highly dependent on the credit of Germany…there are implications going forward.  Germany is aging quickly, has massive unfunded pension liabilities and no clear path to survival.   Granted it can take a good long while before it gets really bad.   

The ONE advantage that Britain has right (aside from drop kicking Keir Starmer – again the football analogy) is that it is in trouble right now.  It has a strong labor majority that "maybe" the new guy will take for a spin.  Unlike Keir "I am afraid of my own shadow" Starmer, who spent two years in power doing fuck all, and making Nigel Farage look good (takes some skill). 

Contrary to what most Europeans believe Britain is not a country of shopkeepers.  There's a lot more to us than that.   I am not preaching an industrial policy, in my opinion a waste of time, rather there are a lot of things that the government can do, to make things work better. Moreover, a rather large number are inside the party's own electoral platform (no they don't need to become shadow conservatives…they just need to be smart about it).   

Trump is busy domestically, middle power countries are looking for friends.  Maybe they will not be friends forever, but they present a real opportunity for smart and dedicated processes.





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