9 - “Singapore on the Thames”

Summary

In the United Kingdom's early discussions about leaving the European Union, there were many proposed new models for the country's ongoing economic configurations and policies, with much argument about possible new approaches to integration. Among the most unexpected of these was the claim that the UK could follow the model of one of the smallest, most distant, and most unusual of its ex-colonies: Singapore. On the surface, the two countries would seem to have little in common: a traditional largely Anglo-Saxon country in a long historical relationship with the European continent on the one hand, and a tiny, newly founded, largely Chinese country in a poor but bustling and populous South East Asian region on the other.

However, this unlikely comparison did not go away. Indeed, it resurfaced in various forms, as politicians and commentators argued that Singapore offered a model for Britain to follow in its Brexit negotiations. This chapter considers whether these comparisons have any economic validity. Initially I recount Singapore's modern history (both the official and unofficial versions). Then I examine the Singapore development model and look for useful comparisons to make for post-Brexit Britain.

SINGAPOREAN BACKGROUND

Official histories of Singapore like to portray it as an ancient trading centre. In fact, it was little more than a swampy island at the foot of the Malay Peninsula, a tiny Malay sultanate where the harbour offered watering facilities for vessels trading between China, the East Indies Archipelago and India/the Middle East. Its key was its location: it commanded the narrow passage between the Malacca Straits and the South China Seas, the shortest route between Canton and Calcutta. Singapore was not originally a sovereign state, but rather part of a Malay sultanate, with whom Stamford Raffles contracted in 1819 to allow the East India Company to build a trading port there.

Its early role as a trading hub set the pattern of Singaporean development for the next two centuries: a small settlement that transhipped cargoes, serviced trading ships and provided fuel and provisions. It was run by a growing population of British administrators, local Malay villagers, Chinese merchants and labourers from the region.