Thread by @pimlicat

Listening to @thestrandgroup event with @edballs on what “Global Britain” should mean.

Interesting point that Global Britain has to first clear the pretty high bar of not becoming Global England, given the likely crumbling of the UK

Does “global britain” really just mean that we want global reach? And if so, can we be sufficiently humble and dial down the hubris to succeed?

And @edballs makes the point that government needs to strike a balance between ambition and humility. I’d add ability.

British exceptionalism must be laid to rest lest we want to alienate international allies and future partners on trade, security and climate

And @edballs says Starmer can’t afford to allow Johnson to own the phrase Global Britain

Now @JoJohnsonUK says we aren’t match fit to play on global stage without major upskilling and investment in our infrastructure. Says gvt still unclear on strategy for combining levelling up with their trade ambitions. Need to marry the two.

Lord Macpherson says it’s really important that Britain remains open and current gvt instincts too protectionist. Reminds us that services must be prioritised.

Says successful service sector requires world class talent in tech, fin tech, biotech etc, and that will need a review of the poor immigration policies we currently have

Growth strategies of Ken Clarke, Gordon Brown and George Osborne had similarities around skills, innovation and investment. Says we need cross party approach to education. And to keep the Union together.

@EmilyThornberry reminds us that Johnson has been talking about Global Britain for years and has yet to define it

She was making a serious point about the belief in the idea rather than a concrete reality. The negative impact on our exporters and importers is supposed to be outweighed by future dividends from trade beyond the EU.

But that leap of faith is going to be very difficult. And it’s not obvious there WILL be a soft landing. Given the feebleness of the deals being signed by Truss

@EmilyThornberry predicts Parliament will end up debating the issues like the impact of our trade deals on human rights, environmental standards, etc rather than the monetary value of them