Britain needs to look to the future, the country is at its best when innovating - Andy Brown

The realities of life there were considerably less attractive than the illusions of political idealists and it proved a serious mistake to underestimate the value of the best aspects of life in Britain. It is easy to undervalue freedom of speech, democratic government and a healthy variety of views competing to win support.

These days the tendency to rubbish Britain and fantasise that the firm hand of a strong leader is necessary comes more frequently from the right. For example, as he scurried to join Reform, after being unmasked as a traitor, Robert Jenrick announced that he defied anyone to tell us that Britain wasn’t broken and our best days weren’t behind us.

Nigel Farage, the strong leader he aligned himself behind, is a huge fan of Donald Trump and JD Vance. Before we allow these theorists to get carried away about the merits of life in their version of America it is worth looking hard and long at what is happening there.

We would be wise to be cautious about trying to copy politicians who seem hell bent on ignoring the constitution and sending badly trained thugs to intimidate entire cities. All whilst threatening former allies and trying to capture Greenland. Particularly when their leader’s ego is so fragile that he has to have it regularly massaged with awards of fake peace prizes from dodgy organisations like FIFA. And when he insults the memory of fallen British soldiers.

If this is the kind of approach that is supposed to make Britain great again then count me out. I happen to think Britain has a future and it can be a very positive one. Provided it looks forward and plans for positive change instead of indulging in nostalgia for a past that never actually existed and letting authoritarian leaders ride roughshod over the values that really did make this country great.

What this country is particularly good at is innovation, creativity and scientific discovery. We didn’t lead the world because we resisted new technology like steam engines or electricity. We were at the front end of knowledge, making exciting discoveries and applying futuristic ideas early.

If we really do wish to replicate our golden economic era of world leading business innovation then we are unlikely to achieve that by clinging as hard as we can to fossilised technologies. No one prospered by building the best steam engine when computer technology came along and no nation will prosper that is slow to adapt to a low carbon future.

What is required if we want to be successful is to build on our existing competitive advantages. We have some incredible universities which produce cutting edge ideas yet are slow to invest in the business ideas which spin off from them. We have world famous musicians, actors, film technologies and gaming developers yet we undervalue the economic importance of their work. We have huge advantages in developing medical science because of our stores of medical records in the National Health Service. We aren’t taking full advantage of it.

When it comes to green energy we are world experts at offshore wind and have seen significant advantages in the job market around Hull and the East Coast as a result. All too often we lurch between short term bursts of political interest in building on this leadership followed by failure to sustain investment and unhelpfully rapid policy shifts.

Much of the excellent new technology that has been developed helps to bring down people’s bills and cuts the running costs of businesses but requires an initial investment.

My electric car saves me over £2,000 a year and anyone who drives more than my average of 10,000 miles saves a lot more. Pouring cheap off peak electricity into my home batteries also saves me good money and can be done for quite small investments in almost any home or business.

Much of the research into producing the efficient new batteries that are driving a lot of modern technology happened here in the UK. The vast majority of the production is happening in China. A country where driving an electric car is now the norm.

Britain needs a hefty focus on investment in effective new technology so that we are the country that exploits our own skills at inventiveness. We can’t rebuild our manufacturing base and reinvigorate our long neglected great northern towns and cities without being ahead of the game.

Listening to people with a focus on the past who think our best days are behind us condemns us to living with fond memories of that past but a bleak future. We need to listen to the innovators and the business leaders who understand economic reality.

There is no future in clinging to fossilised technology. Britain is great when it is the first adopter of the new.

Andy Brown is the Green Party Councillor for Aire Valley.