The name Dean Acheson is not one you hear alot these days. He was President Harry Truman's Secretary of State during the early stages of the Cold War. Acheson was there when the Communists took power in China in 1949 and when the Korean War broke out in 1950. Acheson was the very definition of a Cold War Warrior.

In 1962, Acheson made a speech that sent shockwaves in Westminster. He said that Britain had lost an empire and had not yet found a role. The British government that such a senior statesman would make such brutal comment on her role in the world.

Those comments still ring true in 2019, the long drawn out drama of Brexit plays out. The British people voted to leave the European Union in 2016, but we are still not sure about the manner of our deaprture. Should continue to have ties with Europe, our main trading partner, do should we leave with any agreement? The country is still divided. Those who support No Deal Brexit believe that we can surivive with an agreement with the EU. They overlook the fact that Britain is no longer the industrial power house that it once was. We used to make things like cars, ships and steel. No longer. We import those products from countries who manufacture them cheaper.

Hard Brexiteers also believe that a trade deal with the US will off set a No Deal. The current US Ambassador has said that everything would be on the table, including our beloved National Health Service. Do we really want to negotiate with a US President as erratic as Donald Trump? In this post Cold War world, a medium sized power has to be part of a larger bloc so that it's voice can heard. Britain does not have the economic muscle to stand alone. It did in 1919, when it possessed a vast empire, but today......

Dean Acheson believed that Britain's future lay within Europe, not as some bridge between the US and the continent. Unfortunately a steady anti -EU propaaganda campaign has been conducted by the right wing press in this country. We have been told that we vassals or slaves of Brussels, and we need to " take back control." The people have succumbed to this and opted to leave. None of our politicians have a plan to get out the door. The chaos continues.