Boris and the British connection

British foreign secretary Boris Johnson is on an international campaign to sell post-Brexit Britain to the world. As part of that campaign he unveiled a new war memorial depicting New Zealand and Britain as two intertwined trees.

The reality is rather different from this gratifying image.

New Zealand and Britain’s trading ties have continued to fade, and not all of Johnson’s charm will restore them. There is continuing residual affection between the two countries, but each has gone its own way and the old economic ties cannot be restored.

Johnson is selling his government’s vision of a thrusting, liberated world trader unshackled from the bureaucratic ties of the European Union. In fact, Brexit is likely to harm Britain’s economy – and Johnson must bear some of the blame for that. His campaign for Brexit, based around a notoriously mendacious bus tour, has badly damaged his reputation.

Britain’s entry into the EU in 1974 was thought to be a disaster for New Zealand. In fact, it was a blessing for both countries. It forced New Zealand to form new ties with many other parts of the world. China is now our most important trading partner. The days when New Zealand thought of itself as ‘‘Britain’s farm’’ are long gone – and that is a good thing.

Johnson claims that New Zealand will be high on the list of future free trade partners with Britain. This is hard to to swallow. We are a tiny market, a minnow swimming among the leviathans in Britain’s postBrexit sea, and none of his appeals to the spirit of the Commonwealth will change the fact.

And Britain’s farm lobby will resist any deal which allows us to continue to sell lamb to the still-important British market. In that sense Brexit merely takes us back to the old days of continuing struggles to maintain access. None of that will be cause for celebration in this country.

Johnson also holds out the promise of some kind of continuing access for young New Zealanders to Britain for their OE. But this could only happen as a Commonwealth initiative, and once again New Zealand is a tiny part of the equation.

So Kiwi access could shrink further, despite the Foreign Secretary’s sentimental remarks about Kiwis adding to the vibrancy of London.

Johnson also appeals to the spirit of the blitz in warning about terrorism. The two countries must continue to stand ‘‘shoulder to shoulder’’ against the terrorists, he says.

And certainly it is true that many New Zealanders who have spent time in London will feel a particular chill about the recent terrorist attacks in that city. In that sense, Johnson’s words are based on an enduring emotional tie.

But the Five Eyes intelligence agreement at the heart of the anti-terrorism struggle is led by the United States, not Britain. Britain has for many years now been only a middling power in the world. In that world, the United States is far more important to New Zealand than Britain is, despite our enduring ties of tradition and sentiment.