Let’s celebrate what makes Britain great

Something strange has happened to Britain’s liberal establishment. The outcome of last year’s referendum rattled and confused many of its most eminent members. Donald Trump’s victory last November has added to their dismay and many now find it difficult not to despair about their lost consensus. Unfortunately, this is making it hard for parts of the elite to see the good that exists in Britain’s society and economy. All too often, nihilism, defeatism and even bitterness is the new prism through which they see the world. Most mornings last week, those who tuned into the BBC’s Today

Programme would have been forgiven for thinking that the UK was on the brink of ruin.

There are, of course, many genuine problems. The housing shortage is an example – another is the latest crisis in the NHS. The home-ownership rate is at a 30-year low while a report by the Royal College of Physicians has revealed that patients are being asked to volunteer to sleep in corridors to free up beds in crowded wards. But most of the real problems are to be found either in the public sector or those parts of the private sector crippled by taxes and regulation, such as housing. The rest of the private sector is actually roaring ahead, inventing ever better goods, services, medicines and technologies.

The emphasis is all wrong. We need to spend more time as a nation celebrating what is working well, and imagining how wealthy and prosperous our future could be if we take the right decisions as a soon-to-be-independent nation.

This week it was announced that scientists at Cambridge University have created a mammal embryo using only stem cells. Whatever one thinks of the ethics of this breakthrough, it is a reminder that Britain leads the field in genetic research. And Sir James Dyson has shrugged off fears of Brexit by unveiling a new 517-acre research and development campus as part of a £2.5 billion investment that will support the creation of new battery technologies and robotics. It is clear that science, technology, research and education should be at the heart of a modern Britain, one that leads the world in many creative fields.

Next week’s Budget will make it clear that the economic forecasts are being upgraded and that Brexit, in fact, had zero impact on growth in the past three quarters. For instance, the number of cars made in the UK has hit a 17-year high. Britain’s apparel and textile exports leapt 7 per cent last year. The sales of British gin overseas has reached a record £474 million, which is worth a toast.

Voters want politicians to be honest when things are bad, but there is also a time when they must be upbeat. In his last conference speech, David Cameron talked about a “Greater Britain” made possible by rational economics. Ronald Reagan spoke of “morning in America” fuelled by tax cuts. Donald Trump seems to understand well the value of optimism. The historic peaks hit by the FTSE 100 and Dow Jones are partly due to hopes of tax and regulatory reform – but Mr Trump has also helped to revive the “animal spirits” of investor and consumer confidence with his relentless accentuation of the positive.

Theresa May and Philip Hammond should talk up Britain, too. They are capable of it. Yesterday, Mrs May spoke at the Scottish Conservative conference in fine terms about preserving the United Kingdom – “our precious union”. The Prime Minister has a gift for phrases that neatly summarise the concerns of the nation. “Brexit means Brexit” reassured Leave voters that she could be trusted to achieve it.

The time has now come to find the language that celebrates the essential strengths and incredible possibilities of a transformed British economy based on high value services, medical research, science, learning and upmarket manufacturing. Mr Hammond must talk frankly in his Budget speech about the hard work that still needs to be done: especially when it comes to the nitty gritty of the Brexit negotiations. He must finally do something bold on tax.

But he should also talk about the astonishing ability of the British people to weather uncertainty and prosper despite the warnings of the cynics. The liberal establishment is wrong: Britain’s best days lie ahead.