![](https://www.cer.eu/sites/default/files/styles/spotlight/public/eu_uk_usa_flags_sl_23.jpg?itok=rqLQOhqd)
Britain has become unexpectedly European
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform (CER), a think-tank, recalls that Germany and France seriously feared that post-Brexit Britain would move towards a low-tax, low-regulation version of “Singapore-on-Thames”, which is why they insisted on strong level-playing-field conditions in the trade deal. But in practice there has been little sign of such a shift.