Princess Diana understood what ‘global Britain’ meant. Does Theresa May?

So, ‘global Britain’ eh? This, we are told, will be the leitmotif for Theresa May’s Brexit speech tomorrow and, indeed, for her approach to international affairs more generally. And who could disagree with any of that? The argument will, of course, be couched in economic terms. The spirit of Britannia will be unleashed to sail the world’s oceans. Britain is back, you know. We shall show the doubters what we’re made of and by jove we’ll make a success of Brexit. Well, let us hope so.

There are many kinds of internationalism, however, and I’m not sure – at least not sure yet – the buccaneers really appreciate, far less admire, all of them. I always thought David Cameron’s aspiration to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid a noble ambition. It might have been born, at least in part, from an awareness that making this kind of commitment would help demonstrate how his Conservative party was not the ogreish party of caricature but there was more to it than that.