This has been a liberal weak for Europe and particularly Britain and Canada. It is only Tuesday but I feel a lot of things are going right. The mood of British thinkers was expressed over the weekend by Simon Sharma who condemned the Trump policy of taking away liberalism (and money) from American universities. We hope they get the money back and the freedom of thought but till they do we expect to see a lot of interest in grad and post graduate courses here in the UK.
British Universities are doing precisely the opposite that American Universities can do. I have written today about the LGBT movement powered by leading universities. It show what a long way we have come and a long way American Universities are being asked to return. Liberalism creates the creativity that has made America brilliant and Trump would shut it down, let it come to us!
Today we learn that Canada is not losing its Liberal parliament and a man who we welcomed into the UK as our Bank of England is now returned as Prime Minister (most unexpectedly). If you want to read my view of Mark Carney, read this blog from 2021, he kept us going through Covid. It’s called – if you want to follow one person in 2021 make it Mark Caney
What has happened in Canada is that its more powerful next door neighbour- USA – has determined to make Canada the 51st state, as they’ve determined to make the world’s biggest island (Greenland) – theirs . They want the gulf of Mexico to be renamed after them.
This may go down well mid-west but it does not go down well in Mexico, Greenland and most importantly Canada. It is important for the World that we have a liberal counterpart to the America that has emerged, not be accident, but by a second election win – a very illiberal nation.
I kind of like finding myself at a bar next to someone who turns out to be one of Trump’s friends, it is easy to recognise how he finds ways to help people who have been left behind by not so popular politicians.
But is Nigel Farage doing any good standing behind Trump, I think that even he sees that populism leads down a difficult road and that Britain is more liberal than that.
As for Liberalism as a political force, I grew up one and still call myself liberal. But there is no capital L to my liberalism. I was impressed by the liberalism of Theresa May though it was beaten out of Westminster by Boris Johnson (and his support for Trumpism). I was and am impressed by the current Government though they are learning the hard way after being out of power for 14 years.
But the rejection of the Canadian public of “51st state” policies and the support of a clearly liberal and Liberal Carney tells me that we could and should be strong in our views of what is decent. Offshore humanitarian policy (all over the world) , economic policy, policy in improving cultural standard and tolerance (LGBT at Cambridge) are examples of a success amongst those who want to organise themselves against Trumpism.
“Liberalism is the most successful idea of the last 400 years”