Brexit Britain, fired up on dreams of empire after leaving EU, is making enemies on the world stage – Kenny MacAskill

UK may be about to have the kind of crisis that forces countries to reassess themselves, says Kenny MacAskill

Boris Johnson and like-minded others have failed to grasp that the UK's position in the world has changed since the days of Empire, says Kenny MacAskill (Picture: Julian Simmonds/Daily Telegraph/PA Wire)

Brexit’s a very British crisis, largely born from a failure to come to terms with the country’s reduced world status. Now Johnson and cohorts stand ready to take it over the cliff edge. A longstanding problem spanning generations, it’s seen age-old glories hung on to and even reality denied.

To be fair, there’s been neither military defeat nor civil crisis forcing a reassessment. Those events have been the catalyst for other states to come to terms with their newfound circumstances.

Jared Diamond in his book Upheaval studied other nations, including Germany, Finland and Chile, and how they reacted to what had befallen them and, more importantly, what was necessary to move on from it successfully.

Sadly, the UK seems oblivious and fails the criteria the learned professor thinks necessary, including “an honest self-appraisal” and “building a fence” or, more simply, putting some things behind you. Those failures haven’t just creeped up on us. Reading Denis Healey’s biography shortly after that book, brought back memories of the 60s and 70s and events before even my birth, or recollection.

Britain was literally bankrupted by World War II. But an honest self-appraisal and recognising of its new status there was not. Of course, Britain wasn’t alone. It’s suggested that the strongest economy in Europe would now be France had it not fought colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria, whilst Germany rebuilt its industrial base.

As Healey detailed from the perspective of ministerial office, Britain refused to devalue Sterling, delayed pulling out from east of Suez and pursued an independent nuclear deterrent. All came at a huge cost and all were part of a continuing delusion of Britain’s Empire status.

But it was long gone. Britain had been drained by the war and the colonies needed jettisoned. That latter aspect was largely done but rather than recognise the reduced status and readjust accordingly, there persisted the myth of Empire and power.

An arrogance towards Europe and a desire to retain power and prestige by alignment with the USA, the world’s new superpower took hold.

One of Diamond’s criteria was though met in terms of historical experience. Healey and his generation, in both Labour and Tory parties, had been through the war and experienced subsequent failures such as Suez. That at least provoked some revision by them, but still they railed against many harsh realities.

Now it’s their successors in charge. They’ve no such learned experience but sadly have bought into a historical myth of Britain’s status.

Hence the push for a new empire and a total failure to realise the limitations on Britain’s power. Status and influence existed but it was leveraged by being in the EU. Outwith it, Britain’s marginal and now making enemies and reaping contempt.

Boris and his Brexit Band are delivering not the new age of empire, but the catastrophe Diamond analysed as the precursor for recovery. It’ll come at a cost to living standards, the country’s prestige internationally, and probably the United Kingdom itself. How ironic.

Kenny MacAskill is the SNP MP for East Lothian

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director