How to Make Britain Great again

Respected financial journalist Alex Brummer and Brexit supporter was offering an argument for optimism in his must read book The Great British Reboot, and offers a manifesto for how to re-engineer the UK economy. Brummer’s  prescriptions align with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s political prospectus, despite the gap between strategy and implementation remains wide apart.

His analysis of shortcomings of the British education system and its production line is very adept.

Brummer sees every European failure as proof the case for Brexit, despite listing even more British strategic errors that had nothing to do with the EU.

Although the political arguments for leaving the EU are fully understood, the economic case has always looked pretty slim. For most Brexiters it was an existential  issue of sovereignty and if it came at a price, well, that cost would have to be borne, but never bothered about economic arguments.

Brummer explains how UK retains “world-beating “advantages in a number of sectors such as science, research, fintech and the creative industries with world beating universities and a financial sector that has show itself to be splendidly adaptive.

He criticises how the UK has allowed some of its finest businesses to be snapped up by foreign companies. Although today, we celebrate the triumph of AstraZeneca,  but we did not put any obstacle in the path of Pfizer when it tried to buy the pharma company. When Japan’s Softbank swooped for the UK’s most important tech company Arm Holdings, its interest was welcomed by Theresa May then British prime minister, as proof that the UK was open for business.

The Remainers say that the UK would have been richer remaining within the EU, Brummer argues  that exit need not mean national decline.

While UK remains attractive, it is somewhat less alluring for the highly skilled mobile workers.

His prescription is more investment in skills, more support for investment.

Brummer highlights our current moment can be reshaped  opportunity for economic prosperity, with a new long term approach. Britain can capitalise on the ever-changing global market. He uses his own expertise as a seasoned economic journalist, by interviewing  leading minds in the business, and creates an inspiring investigation into how careful planning, by revealing  innovative reform which can lead to a flourishing economy after Brexit.

The Great British Reboot: How the UK Can Thrive in a Turbulent World by Alex Brummer, Yale University Press, £20, 336 pages.