Little Britain

Remaining outside the euro, while unquestionably a blessing for the economy, has also contributed to Britain’s separateness. But Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, believes that the euro is not the issue: “Look at Tony Blair at his best. The problem now is a lack of ambition. We are capable of leading on a range of issues—climate, energy, trade, the single market, defence, foreign policy. But too often we don’t even when we could.”

...The government’s anti-immigration rhetoric has damaged relations with natural allies such as Poland, according to Mr Grant. (It has also annoyed well-to-do Indians, who used to send their children to British universities but now favour America.)