The apocryphal newspaper headline “Fog in the Channel, Continent cut off” is a century-old metaphor for Britain’s solipsistic attitude to its continental neighbours.
But the joke is no longer funny.
Uncertainty about the US military commitment to Europe, plus the near-certainty of a continuing threat from Russia, places the United Kingdom centre-stage in all defence and security discussions.
But British political leaders are acting in a different drama. They talk to themselves, self-indulgently and incomprehensibly.
Half the last decade was spent on Brexit. Then Boris Johnson’s government imploded. Now Keir Starmer’s time in 10 Downing Street is over too.
