Interesting piece Tinashe. However Britain’s economic challenges cannot be attributed solely to net zero policies or cultural changes that you referred to as”woke”. Weak productivity growth, underinvestment, housing constraints, an ageing population and, crucially, Brexit have all played significant roles over many years. Brexit introduced new trade barriers with... Britain’s largest market, reduced labour mobility and created additional costs for many businesses, all of which have weighed on growth. The contrast with the United States is also more complex than you suggested. America’s dominance in AI and technology is the product of decades of investment, deep capital markets, world class universities and a culture of entrepreneurship that predates Donald Trump. It is difficult to compare Britain’s performance with America’s without acknowledging that Britain chose to leave a major economic bloc while the United States continued to benefit from a vast integrated domestic market. Barack Obama was shocked that Britain made the foolish decision of leaving the EU, and it has contributed to its decline as promised by the then governor of the Bank of England, Markey Carney who is now the Canadian Prime Minister. Concerns about growth, regulation and risk taking that you raised are valid, but cultural debates around universities, gender issues and “wokeness” do not by themselves explain economic performance. Economic growth is driven far more by investment, trade, innovation, skills and productivity than by culture war issues. Your argument that wealthy families are abandoning British universities and that large numbers of Britons are leaving for economic reasons would require substantial evidence. British universities remain among the most sought after in the world, and the UK continues to attract significant numbers of international students despite Brexit. Britain needs faster growth, higher productivity and greater investment. These challenges can’t be explained primarily through net zero policies and cultural change while overlooking the economic consequences of Brexit, which remains one of the most significant structural changes to the British economy in recent decades. Below is former British Prime Minister David Cameron warning British citizens about the dangers of leaving the EU before they made that decision. Many of the warnings he gave before the referendum have since come to pass. That, in my view, does far more to explain Britain’s current economic difficulties than arguments about cultural wokeness. Brexit fundamentally altered Britain’s trading relationship with its largest market, introduced new barriers to trade and labour mobility, and created economic headwinds that continue to be felt today. Any serious discussion about Britain’s economic challenges must grapple with that reality. That said, I enjoyed reading your piece, and thank you for initiating these debates. They help us think more deeply, question our assumptions and dig further into the evidence.show more

Hopewell Chin’ono

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