Boris Johnson, tough on the economic causes of Brexit? Not likely | Larry Elliott

His cabinet is stuffed with Thatcherite true believers who will hardly be inclined to undertake a vital reboot of the economy

So farewell then, Project Fear. Out go the predictions of imminent economic catastrophe, in comes Mr Brightside and his vision of the sunny uplands that lie ahead. Before he became prime minister, Harold Wilson talked of how the Britain of the future would be forged in the white heat of the technological revolution. For Boris Johnson, it is full-fibre broadband.

Little has changed since 1963. Then, as now, Britain was strong in science and rich in new ideas. Then, as now, it was less good than other countries at exploiting them. Wilson's optimism drained away after he arrived in office, as Johnson's may well also, and for the same reason: a sterling crisis. But for now the country will be love-bombed with the new prime minister's can-do spirit.

The causes of Brexit lie not in leftwing economic policies but in Thatcherism and austerity after 2010

Related: How representative is Boris Johnson's new cabinet?

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