The government must accept the limitations of its industrial strategy and focus on services that improve people’s lives
- David Edgerton is professor of modern British history at King’s College London
Fake it till you make it has been the guiding maxim of British government policy for national renewal since Brexit. Don’t be a declinist remoaner, they say, instead enjoy the feeling of being a science superpower, an innovation hub, a global player, a new fount of regulation, and watch those entrepreneurs go, go, go. See them thrust into new markets as those great trade deals open up the world to British ingenuity.
In reality, the country has gone from hero to zero in a few months. The bankers are clamouring to slow the economy by pushing down wages and for cuts in public expenditure.
