Britain needs to learn from Donald Trump’s “boosterism” and be more positive about its strengths, the UK chancellor has said.
Rachel Reeves said the UK should be “shouting from the rooftops”, after travelling to Davos to seek more investment in Britain at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting and visiting China in an effort to rebuild trading and financial links.
The Labour government’s plan for the economy has got off to a rocky start, with the prospect of official figures next month showing little to no growth in the first six months. The chancellor is due to give a speech on Wednesday that will highlight four areas for growth: planning, deregulation, energy and trade.
Reeves has faced pressure over Britain’s public finances in recent weeks. Potential tariffs from the Trump administration are also looming.
Asked about Trump’s “boosterism” and whether the UK could learn from him, Reeves said: “Yes, I think we do need more positivity.”
“I’ve challenged businesses as well and said no one else is going to speak up for Britain apart from us. It hasn’t been a very British thing to say,” she told the Times.
“We are absolutely fantastic as a country; we’ve got four of the best universities in the world. We’ve got some of the most amazing entrepreneurs with fantastic ideas. In all the sectors that are growing globally – AI, tech, clean energy – Britain has got unbelievable strengths in those sectors.
“We shouldn’t apologise for it and we shouldn’t be all polite about it. We should be shouting from the rooftops.”
Reeves was not alone in saying British politicians could learn from Trump.
Simon Case, who stepped down as cabinet secretary on health grounds at the end of last year, praised the US president’s “impressive political theatre” in signing a series of executive orders that range from trade to immigration and civil rights since returning to office on Monday.
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“It is harder to imagine a British prime minister filling a stadium with adoring fans to witness the signature of memos instructing Whitehall to do this or that,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“Nevertheless, the extreme transparency of Trump’s approach might be something that more politicians in the UK are willing to try in future, given the declining public interest in and trust in politics.”
In the first hours of his presidency, Trump pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the January 6 riots at the US Capitol, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords and the World Health Organization, declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, and sought to end automatic citizenship for anyone born in the US.
He also signed an order to pause a ban on TikTok for 75 days to give its China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer.