A major “post-Brexit reset” of British foreign policy has been unveiled by Peter Mandelson, outlining a new vision for renewed UK power. His speech, which included a surprising embrace of Donald Trump, was a strategic roadmap with a single destination: ensuring the United Kingdom retains its influential seat at the world’s top table.
The engine of this reset is a proposed deep technology alliance with the United States. Mandelson argues that, freed from the EU, Britain can now forge a more dynamic and crucial partnership with America. This tech-focused relationship is designed to be the primary source of the UK’s geopolitical clout and long-term relevance.
This reset requires a pragmatic and clear-eyed approach to diplomacy. The warm words for Trump and the championing of Brexit’s “freedoms” are key elements of this new realism. They serve to signal to Washington that the UK is now a flexible, agile, and ideologically aligned partner, deliberately setting itself apart from the more bureaucratic European Union.
In essence, the speech was a bold declaration that Brexit can be a beginning, not an end. It rejected the narrative of decline and instead offered an ambitious vision of a nimble “Global Britain.” The core of this vision is a unique and powerful bond with the United States, a mission that Mandelson argues must now define the UK’s place in the world.
