Politically stable for decades, both countries now face radical forces that may further divide politicians and citizens, and wreak economic damage — but who is worse off?
A man waves a British flag on Brexit day in London, Britain, January 31, 2020. Picture: REUTERS
Britain looks relatively stable by comparison. Rishi Sunak is a technocrat who believes in sound finance and balancing the books. At this week’s COP27 meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for example, he seems to have established a cordial relationship with his fellow technocrat , French President Emmanuel Macron.
Sunak has included several people in his Cabinet who have a distinctly Trumpist feel to them. Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has dubbed the arrival of refugees on small boats an “invasion” and proclaimed that her dearest wish is to see refugees transported to Rwanda. Kemi Badenoch is waging a war on woke.
But in two important ways, Brexit has caused more long-term damage. The most obvious is economic. Trump’s combination of tax cuts and deregulation were widely welcomed by business, whatever it felt about his cultural policies. Brexit was solidly opposed by the British business establishment, and for good reasons.
The second long-term consequence has to do with the UK’s future. In September 2014, it looked as if this question might have been solved for a generation when the Scots voted 55% to 45% to remain part of the country. Brexit reopened the question by first dragging Scotland out of the EU against its will and then creating turmoil in Westminster, as a predominantly English party, the Tories, tore itself apart over what Brexit meant.
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