Atmanirbhar Britain.

In December 2019, Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to an absolute majority in elections to the House of Commons in Britain, promising to "get Brexit done" and take the UK out of the EU. "Brexit's true believers celebrated: Their messiah would now be able to finish the job he had started in 2016," wrote Luke McGee. "A scant 12 months later, much of that goodwill has vanished -- despite his party continuing to perform well in opinion polls compared to the opposition Labour Party." In January this year, the British Parliament passed a bill finalising Britain's exit from the EU and set a transition period till 31 December to come to an agreement on future trade relations. "Unless the UK asks for an extensions beyond 2020, trade relations from the start of 2021 will either be governed by whatever agreement can be reached, or World Trade Organization rules." Which will mean tariffs on imports, increasing consumer prices, from, and on exports, losing to cheaper competition, to, the EU. Talks on a trade deal have been fruitless and today has been set as the deadline for coming to an agreement, or else a 'No Deal' Brexit will go ahead from 1 January 2021. After 11 months of chest thumping on how the EU has much more to lose from Britain's exit, "Business leaders were sweating last night as the prospects of a No Deal Brexit increased dramatically," reported the Daily Mail. "It came as bank Morgan Stanley dealt another blow to Britain's post-Brexit prospects, becoming the latest Wall Street lender to shift chunks of its assets out of London." Perhaps, Johnson's trouble in coming to any agreement with the EU is a hangover from the Conservative Party icon Margaret Thatcher who forced a reduction in Britain's contribution to the EU's budget. Her famous "No, no, no" speech against greater integration with Europe in the House of Commons in 1990 was apparently based on an article written by Boris Johnson in the Daily Telegraph. Johnson has repeatedly claimed that Brexit, even a No Deal one, will be good for Britain as it will be able to negotiate separate deals with all the other countries of the world. But, the EU takes 43% of all UK exports and sends in 52% of all UK imports. In panic Johnson rushed over for a dinner with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (pronounced Lion) but the "lady is not for turning". There will be last ditch talks today but both sides are pessimistic about a favorable outcome. In a sign of British arrogance and colonial mentality the Mail on Sunday savages Angela Merkel of Germany and Emanuel Macron of France for refusing to surrender. It's not just about fish and cheese. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to remain within the EU and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has warned that she may ask for a referendum to leave the UK. Without Scotland and Northern Ireland, Britain cannot claim its seat in the UN Security Council. The 'Little Englander' may pine for 'Atmanirbhar' or 'self reliance' but may become really little. A lesson for us, perhaps.