Something not widely reported at the time of Mrs May's Davos speech was the sparse attendance in comparison to the packed house for Macron and Trump. The New York Times HERE reports there were free seats close to the stage when the prime minister spoke and people were leaving before the end. The paper says it's part of Britain's post referendum decline and I am sorry to say that I agree.
It will only get worse. After Brexit we will become like a sort of Uriah Heep, ingratiating our way around the world in a desperate attempt to secure trade agreements.
We don't look like a reliable partner to any international agreements, or only so far as they are bent to our advantage. By leaving the EU we are showing we don't like level playing fields. We need to have things tilted in our favour otherwise we stomp off the pitch. This does not send out a good signal to countries with whom we plan to negotiate in future.
Our voice is being muted. BoJo is not taken seriously by anybody and by appointing him to the foreign secretaryship Mrs May reinforced the impression that the rest of the world had already got through the Brexit vote, that Britain has taken leave of its senses.
We are diminishing ourselves.
