London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Brexit Britain adopts the Microsoft model

Brexit Britain adopts the Microsoft model

After leaving the EU, the country is about to have another go at defining its global role
How does a nation with an outsized ego adjust to life as a midsized power? For the UK, the answer has always been, with difficulty. But, post Brexit, the country is about to have another go at defining its global role.

Leaving the EU is a hit to its clout. But Brexit is now a fact. As a Nato and UN Security Council member, G7 economy and nuclear power, the UK still matters.

The new role, to be set out in the imminent security and foreign policy review, draws on Brexiters’ twin belief in UK exceptionalism but also that leaving the EU was the shock therapy needed to make a sluggish economy more competitive. In Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s words, the UK is “a nation that is now on its mettle”.

There is a model for a once-mighty empire, eclipsed by newer powers, finding a way to rise again. It is not a country, but a company: Microsoft. Crunched between Apple and Google, Microsoft switched from a failing strategy of desktop domination to services built around customers. For Brexit Britain, the Microsoft model is instructive.

Inevitably, money is a main driver. The spending review will tackle defence costs, and resources will shift from the army into drone technology and cyber security. One person close to the review predicts a cut in troop numbers from 82,000 to about 75,000.

Many of the principles will be familiar, not least the centrality of the US alliance. But key to the new diplomatic and commercial approach is marketing British values as a comprehensive service, one with limitless chances to upgrade. Buy a Microsoft license and you get the Office suite, Teams, cloud services and so on. Buy into the UK and you get a champion of world order plus legal and education services and fintech expertise (of special interest to nations disconcerted by the spread of China’s Alipay).

On defence, the UK has pushed weaponry that is too high end. “Most places don’t need challenger tanks; they want small armoured patrol vehicles,” says one minister. Having more tailored products allows for upsell later on. Underpinning the package is a UK that champions free trade and a rules-based order (an easier sell before the government’s threat to breach an international treaty). “British values are at the centre of all this,” says a minister. Imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions for human rights breaches underscores the UK’s desire to be seen to be a good actor. It is pushing the case for turning the G7 into a “D10” group of wealthy, major democratic nations (adding India, South Korea and Australia). The theory is a virtuous circle of commercial and diplomatic goals.

This leads us to the review’s buzz phrase, the “Indo-Pacific tilt”. Next year will see a formal push to join the CPTPP, the trade pact that includes Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Vietnam. This would place the UK in an expanding trade bloc.

But the tilt goes further. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has put effort into courting Vietnam, though its current appetite for UK exports is tiny. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are also a focus. He laments “the intellectual laziness” of looking only at the major players. The tilt will inform defence decisions, boosting funds for the navy — maritime support for premium clients.

It is a decent notion and one that offers Brexiters a story to tell. Asia is the rising market. To adapt a Microsoft slogan, the UK wants to be “where’s next”.

How far this can be taken is arguable. The economic benefits of a tilt from Europe will take years to materialise. The UK is not a military power in the region, nor the only western country targeting a rising Asian middle class. The export opportunities outside Japan and China are real but small. The UK is also wary of going too far in souring relations with China, fear of which is the glue uniting the other nations. Decisions such as pushing Huawei out of its 5G development, defiance over Hong Kong and the moves to cut reliance on strategic Chinese investment and goods are already alienating Beijing.

And the tilt must not become a reason to neglect Europe or its markets. A prime policy goal must be ensuring stability in the UK’s backyard. History shows few European crises stop at the Channel.

Ministers seem to see Nato as the only relevant vehicle here. German overtures to maintain something akin to the E3 security grouping of France Germany and the UK have been rebuffed by London, which prefers ad hoc co-operation. This is a mistake. Influence comes not only from makeshift alliances but from routine collaboration.

A tilt is good but it must not unbalance the entire edifice. Britain as a service should be competitive in all markets, especially its nearest one.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×