Post-Brexit UK economy demands a new type of Robin Hood tax

There is a progressive alternative to the Brexiters' mythical Victorian free-trade golden age. All it needs is a simple regulatory change

The truth is stranger than fiction. Rising out of the chaos of the Brexit vote stand two opposing visions of Britain's future. There is Britain as the 19th-century free-trade, low-tax warrior, the world's banker, insurer, and lawyer.

Facts get in the way of visions. In the 19th-century free trade was about strong countries undermining the sovereignty of others. Not the best model for Britain today. Britannia no longer has the world's most powerful navy to blockade Latin American ports until the locals pay City of London bondholders or push opium onto the Chinese.

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