The bull case for beaten-up Britain

ONE OF THEIPO vices of Britons is a penchant for mourning the country’s decline. To be cured of this, Britain would probably need a different history. It was the first industrial nation. From that starting-point, its influence could only ever go in one direction: downwards. There is a large literature blaming long-term decline on sloth, complacency and amateurism. Brexit is just another opportunity to lament lost relevance.This sense of decline is felt keenly in capital markets. Sterling was once the global currency but it now accounts for less than 5% of foreign-exchange reserves. Britain’s money markets used to stand out in Europe for their high interest rates; but no longer. And Britain’s stockmarket is a shadow of its former self. Big s are as rare as rocking-horse dung. This scarcity along with years of share underperformance has seen Britain’s share of global market capitalisation shrink markedly (see chart).