Is Britain capable of governing itself?

I religiously read the weekly blog posts of Chris Grey and I assume you do too. He is by far the most knowledgeable, reliable and logical source on all things Brexit. This week’s contribution was about Britain as an ‘ailing state’ which it increasingly looks like for all the examples he gives and plenty of others we might have experienced personally that don’t get a mention. The Post Office Horizon scandal being one. Professor Grey sets the scene by recalling the Brexiteer's jibe from 2016: “Don’t you think this country is capable of running its own affairs?”

Grey says after eight years of Brexit: It’s “tempting to think that the answer to the question should simply be ‘no’.”

Firstly, I should make clear he isn’t saying Britain is a ‘failing’ state which has a much harsher meaning reserved for countries on the verge of collapse. He is describing a milder version - an ailing state that he defines as a place "increasingly unable to meet the basic expectations of what a rich and technologically advanced country should be able to deliver to its citizens."

Secondly, he doesn’t put the whole blame on Brexit but he does link our current problems to it in that leaving the EU has overwhelmed or overloaded the civil service, put a drag on economic growth, and created huge political instability.

However, I have to say I disagree with him on this one. It isn't for me merely 'tempting' to say we aren't capable of self-government but to shout it out clearly, loudly, and unequivocally.  

Brexit is not in my opinion a side-show or some sort of diversion from the many problems we have but rather a symptom - and a large one at that - of a much deeper issue that has bedeviled the country for decades, well over a century.  It was a decision made by more than 33 million of us after months of debate, after which we then made the completely wrong choice.

Virtually, nothing that has happened since 2016 wasn't forecast by someone at some point during the campaign. We were told the truth but chose the lies because that is what we've done for years.  It was not an isolated example, was it?  I bet we can all think of something like it at the national and local level or in commerce or industry. 

This is something that happened constantly when I was working for British companies before the early 90s. An important decision was needed, perhaps about an investment or design functionality of a new model. There were several choices, each with arguments for and against. Those on the logical, solid but slower and more expensive side were invariably drowned out by those pushing for the irrational, quick, and cheap solution that was pretty well guaranteed to fail.

It was the triumph of hope over bitter experience time and time again.  Senior managers tasked with making the final decision were almost always concerned first and foremost with money and the short term. They also were invariably novices and dilettantes with little field experience. 

Harold Wilson in 1963 was bemoaning the fact that although we invented the computer other countries had overtaken us. He also lamented the fact we were losing the machine tool industry. We certainly lost the car and motorcycle industries partly under him and much of the rest under Mrs Thatcher.

This Twitter thread is fascinating for what leaders like Wilson were struggling with sixty years ago:

#OTD 1964. Harold Wilson delivers speech in Edinburgh on building a “First Class Nation” through planning, investment, and house building.

“The housing conditions we saw this morning were an affront to a civilised nation”

A thread on his speech 60 years ago today👇 pic.twitter.com/qtLGVymmY0

— Tides of History (@labour_history) March 21, 2024

Britain had a head start on computers at the end of the war, Wilson said, but "other countries have caught us up and left us behind in their use” noting that Sweden had 47 computers for every million manufacturing workers while Britain had just 17.

The same thing is true today in robots. We have a tiny fraction of those in use in Japan, Korea, Germany, and most other advance nations.

So, no I don't think Brexit was an aberration or a distraction, it is all of a piece with how we have managed ourselves for the best part of a century. The men making the decisions inside British industry aren't a different breed from those in power and making catastrophic choices outside of business. They are the same people.

I am sorry to say that the question about whether or not we are capable of running our own affairs can be answered clearly with a resounding NO.

Working for European companies was totally different. They were in general ruthlessly logical, brutally honest, and far more willing to spend money over a long period to get the right result. They wanted to become the best rather than simply make a quick buck. They weren't always right, but more often than not they made much better decisions. Until we start to accept our shortcomings we will go on making bad ones like Brexit.

So, in my opinion we are far better off being in the EU to help us make those better choices.