Expats like me frequently extol the virtues of Singapore, suggesting Reform UK could use the Commonwealth city state as a model for everything from work permits to criminal justice. It seems the House of Lords feels similarly. As reported by the Financial Times, a Lords committee on financial regulation said Britain’s financial regulators should learn from Singapore by ditching their “risk-averse culture”, stepping up support for economic growth, and becoming more welcoming to business.
The peers said the UK has “valuable lessons to learn from Singapore’s approach”, and could establish a Singapore-style “concierge service” to help foreign companies set up in the UK “as part of broader efforts to instil a culture based on efficiency and an appropriate degree of flexibility”.
Singapore’s model cannot be neatly copied and pasted. However its socio-economic model has tremendous merits, not least blending a pro-business regime of tax and regulation with government having a role in key economic sectors when in the national interest.
This sounds remarkably close to the ideas of Nigel Farage and Reform UK: pro-entrepreneurs and wealth creation but also protecting Britain’s strategic interests. While the UK – like Singapore – has a good record of protecting property rights, it does far worse than Singapore when it comes to crime.
Frankly – and on this point I would encourage those who question Singapore’s model without having visited to pay the Southeast Asian state a visit – Singapore’s ability to keep crime down makes for a more attractive environment for business to grow and to attract top talent.
The beauty of say Reform UK citing Singapore as a model – whether on work permits, crime or safety – is the city state has actually offered a working model.
Yes, Singapore doesn’t have to fund as many police or hospitals thanks to its smaller size. But that smaller size means it has a lower tax take so it’s all relatively proportionate.
The Lords committee is only the most recent in a long line or organisations and individuals extolling Singapore’s virtues. Reform could do a lot worse than double down on Singapore as a working model for a reformed Britain.
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