Britain after Brexit

Over the next few weeks, we can expect breathless reporting about the Brexit deal and its dynamics: the state of phytosanitary checks in the Irish Sea and the desirability of chlorinated chicken. But the real question about Brexit is about what type of country we become, once the process is complete and sovereignty has been retrieved from Brussels. And it’s a question to which the Conservative government is finally beginning to provide an answer.

Theresa May’s concluding speech to her conference was one of the best she has given as leader. She spoke about what Michael Howard called the British dream: that children and grandchildren of immigrants and refugees can, in this country, rise to the cabinet. She emphasised that Britain is ideally placed for a global trading future: we can talk to Shanghai in the morning and San Francisco in the evening. It was hard to believe that this was the same leader who was snarling about ‘citizens of nowhere’ two years ago.

May’s speech was one of the rare highlights. For the rest of conference week, the main hall was often half-empty. Fringe meetings, by contrast, were packed, with people often queuing an hour in advance.

Two other speakers stood out: Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid. The Home Secretary pointed out that the famous economic success of Singapore (where he used to work) is not down to trade deals; it has very few. Singapore thrives because it has a decent education system (which, like many of Britain’s former colonies, outperforms Britain’s) and it welcomes international investment. Its infrastructure is outstanding, as are its skills — which is why companies like to invest there. If the point of Brexit is to look outwards, towards the wider world, then trade deals will only be a small part of this.