Voting to leave the EU was an act of national
self-confidence. Politicians should be more optimistic about Brexit
26 DECEMBER 2016 •
4:55PM
When Mervyn King speaks about the economic future, it is generally a good idea to listen. The former governor of the Bank of England did not have a perfect record as an economic forecaster (no one does), but he does have a near-unique experience of economic policy built up over more than 30 years at the Bank. Lord King, a cross-bench peer aligned to no political party, says Britain should be more optimistic and “self-confident” about its prospects outside the European Union.
Stephen Martin, the new head of the Institute of Directors, strikes a similar note, arguing that leaving the EU will “open our eyes” to the economic opportunities that lie outside Europe. Mr Martin, too, is politically non-partisan, interested only in what is good for British business. Both men are right and politicians should learn from them. Many of those who lead this country, or simply aspire to, should be approaching Brexit with a very different, more optimistic attitude.
Asking for more optimism about Brexit is not, as some of its opponents suggest, a way of continuing the divisions of the referendum. As Theresa May proves, it is perfectly possible to have voted Remain in June and to argue today that Brexit can be good for Britain. Mrs May will soon give a major speech on Brexit which she says will offer a vision of the country Britain can become outside the EU.
If it lives up to her promise, Mrs May’s speech will be exactly what the country needs, but her most important audience may be among her own colleagues and officials. Voters are largely positive about the future, believing in this country’s ability to thrive. Sadly, that belief is often lacking in some ministers and especially in the Civil Service. Too many still regard the Brexit vote as an error and the exit that must follow as a problem to be managed and mitigated, not an opportunity to be seized.
Outside the EU, Britain will be able once again to decide its own laws on everything from immigration to industrial strategy. We must surely also get more scope to build closer trading relationships with dynamic economies around the world. These are the freedoms that the British people chose for themselves and their country in the biggest vote in our history: the referendum vote to leave the EU was a huge collective act of optimism and belief that this country’s best days are yet to come. Brexit is a good news story, and our leaders should do more to tell it that way.
Structure of the Lead：
WHO-
WHEN-
WHAT-
WHY-
WHERE-
HOW-not given
Keywords：
1. brexit：脫歐
2. forecaster：推測者
3. aspire：嚮往、懷有大志
4. division：分開
5. referendum：公民投票
6. thrive：興旺、繁榮
7. mitigate：緩和、減輕
8. dynamic：強而有力的
9. freedom：自由權
10. optimism：樂觀
Britain should be more optimistic and “self-confident” about its prospects outside the European Union. Sadly, that belief is often lacking in some ministers and especially in the Civil Service. Too many still regard the Brexit vote as an error and the exit that must follow as a problem to be managed and mitigated, not an opportunity to be seized. The referendum vote to leave the EU was a huge collective act of optimism and belief that this country’s best days are yet to come.
回覆刪除The United Kingdom led to the international financial market turmoil, the dollar, the yen strong, leading to foreign exchange remitted US dollars, coupled with the won revaluation, the central bank to take advantage of the NT to go. For positive turn negative growth in Taiwan exports, bring no small impact.
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