Britain has led again. In June 2016, the Brexit referendum was a leading indicator for the victory not only of Donald Trump but also of other right-wing populists, from Matteo Salvini in Italy to Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. I spent much of last week in a sleep-deprived state of anxiety, fearing that Britain might lead again in precisely the opposite direction.
My nagging, neurotic nightmare was of another hung parliament and a political (not to mention financial) crisis that would end up producing an unholy Labour-Scottish National Party-Liberal Democrat coalition, with the odious Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister. This would then have given a kind of legitimacy to the “woke” left all over the world, including America. You may recall my manic dive into social