Starmer called it a “fantastic, historic” day, but while he and Donald Trump were busy praising their plan as a “breakthrough deal”, the details were still hazy. After all of his pleading and self-abasement in the Oval Office, the letter from the King and all the rest of it, all we knew for sure is the UK has less access to US markets and the US has more access to UK markets than it had in February, and the 10 percent tariff rate still applies.
It will do nothing for the UK economy. Indeed, Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, has already said that the deal will not be enough to dampen uncertainty. All that we do know for sure is that the British now lead the world in prostrating themselves before Trump for no noticeable gain. And as recent history from Canadaattests, I am also certain that Trump will be …