This really looks like a statement of the blindingly obvious from Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, that Britain will, post-Brexit, remain a recognisably European style social democracy. This isn't because said state will actively mobilise against being shrunk that much, cut in half, simply because the British just don't want that to happen. This is not an admission that the state will grow from where it is, nor even stop shrinking from where it is. The thing to note here is that one set of comments are about the general size of the state. Hammond is quite right, the various plans for post-Brexit Britain will leave it a recognisably European social democracy.

Source: Forbes July 31, 2017 07:30 UTC