What will Global Britain look like?
As the UK leaves the EU it will have to carve out a new place for itself on the world stage

The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has vowed Britain’s departure from the EU will not erode its diplomatic or military influence, as it looks to carve out a new place for itself on the world stage.
Speaking a day before the UK formally leaves the European Union, Raab said “whether it’s through Nato, whether it’s through the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or even through the Council of Europe... we’ve got a great opportunity to show we’ll be not weaker, actually even better neighbours, allies and partners.”
The Financial Times says his comments “underline Britain’s eagerness to construct a new role for itself outside the EU as it faces an unpredictable US administration, increased hostilities with Russia, and heightened tensions in the Middle East caused by Donald Trump’s stand-off with Iran”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Setting out his vision for Global Britain in The Daily Telegraph, former foreign secretary William Hague said the UK should focus on defining a security strategy for the West, preserving the global commons, standing up for law, and heading off mounting trouble in Europe.
Yet “for all the talk of Global Britain, the government faces a politically unpalatable decision between competing regulatory blocs, the EU and United States, with China also a looming presence,” says France 24.
To mitigate this some Brexiteers have turned to the idea of an ‘Anglosphere’ comprised of majority-English speaking countries, namely Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, “which represent a set of common values, interests and instruments sufficient to exert a powerful influence on the international system”, says Christopher Hill in The Guardian.
Britain could supplement this strategy with further support from the 53-member Commonwealth and strategic partnerships with countries such as India or Japan, writes Hill, but “would thus be exchanging its membership of a regional organisation for a geographically dispersed virtual community”.
Many expect the UK to move further towards the orbit of the United States, and “at home, the special relationship will have to bear the political and media scrutiny once reserved for Britain’s EU membership”, says Philip Stevens in the Financial Times. But as this week’s row with Washington over Huwaei has shown “taking back control” from Brussels “does not confer the power to act as an independent player. The world has returned to great power politics. Britain will have to choose its side”, he says.
What is now clear is that “the divisions surrounding Brexit are part of broader divergence in how British citizens view their country’s role in the world” says Benjamin Martill in Global Policy.
“Far from simply removing one tool of foreign influence (the EU), the Brexit worldview represents a repudiation of those liberal foreign policy goals – institutionalisation, cosmopolitanism, democratic alliances – which are at the heart of the UK’s identity as an international actor,” he writes.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Elliott Goat is a freelance writer at The Week Digital. A winner of The Independent's Wyn Harness Award, he has been a journalist for over a decade with a focus on human rights, disinformation and elections. He is co-founder and director of Brussels-based investigative NGO Unhack Democracy, which works to support electoral integrity across Europe. A Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow focusing on unions and the Future of Work, Elliott is a founding member of the RSA's Good Work Guild and a contributor to the International State Crime Initiative, an interdisciplinary forum for research, reportage and training on state violence and corruption.
-
Who wants to be a millionaire? The dark side of lottery wins
In The Spotlight Is hitting the jackpot a dream come true or actually a nightmare?
-
Mutually Assured Destruction: Cold War origins of nuclear Armageddon
In Depth After the US and Soviet Union became capable of Mutually Assured Destruction, safeguards were put in place to prevent World War Three
-
Crossword: June 19, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Is the G7 still relevant?
Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?
Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer
-
Brexit 'reset' deal: how will it work?
In Depth Keir Stamer says the deal is a 'win-win', but he faces claims that he has 'surrendered' to Brussels on fishing rights
-
Are we entering the post-Brexit era?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer's 'big bet' with his EU reset deal is that 'nobody really cares' about Brexit any more
-
Is Starmer's plan to send migrants overseas Rwanda 2.0?
Today's Big Question Failed asylum seekers could be removed to Balkan nations under new government plans
-
Can Starmer sell himself as the 'tough on immigration' PM?
Today's Big Question Former human rights lawyer 'now needs to own the change – not just mouth the slogans' to win over a sceptical public
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
-
Trump vows 25% tariffs on EU at Cabinet meeting
Speed Read The tariff threats serve to enhance a growing suspicion that the president views Europe as an adversary, not an ally