However, the Prime Minister is increasingly struggle for influence with these ultra-hawks within the Conservative Party who are attempting to mould Brexit into a broader ideological and civilizational struggle in the name of Anglophone exceptionalism. These people, such as Liz Truss, do not base Britain's economic and trade interests on empirical realities see it also as an extension of identity politics and Imperial nostalgia. They argue that Britain should be primarily trading with the nations of the Anglosphere (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) as well as of course India, which Britain also heralds a post-colonial nostalgia towards, and not of course on the actual merits of what these countries can contribute to Britain.
For example, according to House of Commons Research, Britain's "free trade agreement" with Australia will only increase GDP by 0.08% per annum (which also has been widely criticized for undermining British agriculture), illustrating the bizarre decision making of the British government premising trade on identity and economic reality. Whereas China, which has a bilateral trade with Britain in terms of £100 billion per annum, is seemingly off limits. If it wasn't clear already, post-Brexit Britain is harbouring a foreign policy which is based purely on nationalistic sentiment and Imperial good feeling, and as a result has no coherent grasp of the country's strategic realities or national interest, leading to self-destructive decision making. As an old saying goes: "the lunatics are in charge of the Asylum".
Despite the deep interdependence and mutual self-interest of the British-China relationship, there is nothing that could be more offensive to the Chinese people themselves to a Britain roleplaying its Imperial past and believing that it has the right to bring China to keel, there is a political will in Beijing that history won't be allowed to repeat itself. China is the 2nd largest economy in the world with a GDP estimated over $17 trillion, whilst the UK is a stagnating country whose future prosperity will hinge upon access to its markets. If Britain is to be truly "global" as its government markets its to be, then the sensible choice is to step back from the brink, regain control of its foreign policy from the United States, and engage with China on pragmatic, realistic and independent terms. Fanatical Cold War chauvinism will undermine decades worth of progress.
