Mike's Minute: Free trade will survive these tariffs

Keir Starmer is fast becoming a new political hero. 

For a bloke who stumbled into office not on his brilliance or a nationwide passion for the Labour Party, but more because the Tories had spent 14 years slowly messing the place up, he turns out to be quite the operator. 

He is reforming public health because it's fat and useless. He is trimming welfare because there are too many layabouts. 

He has handled Trump as well as anyone, and better than most, both on tariffs and the war. 

Now he has rejected that hackneyed old sop of a patriotic "Buy British" campaign in response to America's moves. 

Canada hasn’t. They are flat out hating on America, and in some senses, it's working. Tourism is down in America as Canadians go elsewhere. But all the rest of it is anecdotal as they pull American booze off shelves in a massive huff. 

So the idea was, like it was here a number of times over the years and like it is currently in Australia as part of their election campaign, you run the flag up a pole, get everyone fizzed up about their country and their heritage and their ability to make stuff and whittle and dig and toil and sweat and the punter, so enamoured with your skills and graft, buys the locally made brilliance. 

And we all live happily ever after. 

There is value in patriotism and pride in some local stories. 

But even in Britain, where a lot of stuff was born or invented, the world has moved on and Starmer knows it. 

People buy on either quality or price and sometimes a bit of both. 

They don’t buy blindly, they don’t want crap and they won't support their own for the sake of it. If they did Temu would never have been invented. 

This whole tariff thing will pass and this Starmer gets. Free trade will survive, if not thrive. Starmer gets it. President Xi gets it. 

Good ideas don’t die with the arrival of an economic Neanderthal. They may be paused or dented, but they don’t die. 

Land Rover thrives because, yes it's British, but also because it's good, as do Fortnum and Mason and Barbour wax jackets. 

Buying local is isolationism. Most of us worked that out a long time ago. 

This is no time to regress.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Keir Starmer is fast becoming a new political hero of mine.
For a bloke who stumbled into offers not on as
brilliant or a nationwide passion for the Labour Party, but
more because the Tories had spent fourteen years slowly missing
the place up it turns out to be quite the operator.
He's reforming the public health because it's fat and useless.
He's trimming welfare because there are too many layabouts. He's
handled Trump as well as anyone and better than most,

(00:20):
both on tariffs and the war. And now he's rejected
that hackneyed old sop of a patriotic by British campaign.
This is in response to the American moves. Of course
Canada hasn't. They're flat out at the moment hating on America,
and in some senses it's working. Tourism is down as
Canadians go elsewhere, but all the rest of its anecdotal
as they pull American boos off shells and a massive huff.

(00:41):
So the idea was like it was here a number
of times over the years. If you think back to
buy Aki, we are like it currently. I suppose it's
kind of like the Wall discussion this morning like it
currently as an Australia as part of their election campaign,
they've got a big by Australia campaign thing going. You
run the flag up the pole, you get everyone fizzed
up about their country, their heritage, their ability to make
stuff in whittle and degan toil and sweat, and the

(01:02):
punt is so enamored with your skills and graft buys
the locally made brilliance and we all lived happily ever after.
There is value, of course in patriotism and pride in
some local stories, but even in Britain, where a lot
of stuff was born or invented, the world has moved on,
and Starman knows it. People buy on either quality or price,
sometimes a little bit of both. They don't buy blindly.
They don't want crap, and they won't support their own

(01:23):
for the sake of it. I mean if they did,
TEAMU would never have been invented. This whole terriff thing
will pass free trade and this is what Starmer gets
will survive, if not thrive. Starmer gets it. President g
certainly gets it. Good ideas, you see, don't die with
the arrival of an economic Neanderthal. Good ideas don't die
they may be paused, although may be dented, but they
don't die. Landrover thrives because yes, it's British, but it's

(01:46):
also because it's good, as do Futenham and Masons and
barber wax jackets. Buying local is isolationism. Most of us
worked out out a long time ago. This is no
time to regress. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
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