When was the last time the UK exported more goods than it imported for an extended period — say five years or so?

The short answer is: never. Over the past 200 years this great trading nation has had a surplus in merchandise trade for fewer years than you have toes. Even during the Empire and the industrial revolution the UK invariably sucked in more goods than it pumped out.

It’s not that the UK doesn’t make anything — in fact it remains one of the world’s biggest manufacturers. But this island nation has never been self-sufficient. Indeed, the only thing preventing Britain’s balance of payments from looking truly horrendous is the services we have sold foreigners — financial, legal, consultancy, administration, retail and so