The Government’s Integrated Review of 2021 places Trade & Finance at the heart of British foreign Policy for the first time in 200 years. The UK is a global leader in exporting: the 2nd largest in the export of services and 5th largest overall. Exporting comprises 30% of our GDP. National prosperity generates national stability and security. It finances our collective security which enables global security and stability and these are the pre-requisites of global prosperity, a UK national interest. British Standards generate ISO Standards and contribute to the Rules-based International System which has generated the greatest levels f global prosperity since 1945. The principles of this were enshrined in the Atlantic Charter and this year renewed by President Biden and Prime Minister Johnson. The UK and USA created our world today, ad this renewal places the Special Relationship at the helm of global stability once again. It has been reinforced by this month’s AUKUS Agreement between the UK, USA and Australia, and UAUK will be the UK’s second Special Relationship overall, aiming to stabilise the Indo-Pacific where 50% of global trade will shortly occur but which is now a highly contested region.

People tend to forget that the UK is a global power. We are at the heart of 54 members of the Commonwealth, a P5 member of the UN Security Council, NATO’s 2nd largest military contributor, one of only 2 nations on earth with 5th Generation Carrier & Littoral Strike capabilities, a member of FIVE EYES and the Five Powers Defence Agreement in Asia. More Nobel Prizes for Science at 1 Cambridge College than the entire nation of a neighbouring EU country whose capital begins with “P”. The world’s 2nd largest Diplomatic network. One of only 6 nations on earth with nuclear submarines and one of only 5 with an independent submarine-based nuclear deterrent. The only country with a Special Relationship with the USA, and our countries together do more bilateral trade and finance with each other than any other countries on earth, doing GBP 220 billion per year in trade and over USD 1.5 trillion in finance. We are global leaders in sport, music, theatre and art whilst leading the world in cyber and security. We are a member of more Multi-Lateral Organisations than any country outside the USA and created today’s world with the USA since 1945 when together we created the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, an equal member Commonwealth and NATO itself, whilst at home creating the NHS, the welfare State and Equality for Women under the law. All at a time of near bankruptcy, when GDP-to-Debt was 250% and when bread itself was rationed. And we are about to do it all again, since June 2021 when our countries renewed the Atlantic Charter and we are building further on that with the strategic AUKUS Agreement which is our second Special Relationship and extends it to the Indo-Pacific.This is a wonderful time to be British and the world will be a safer and more prosperous one, with the UK at its helm.