The chancellor wants everyone with money to back Britain. Initially, she talked mostly about attracting foreign investors.

These days the focus is on domestic funds that have – contrary to a Britain First agenda – spread their investments across the world, and especially the US, where stock markets have boomed in the wake of the 2008 financial crash. Why bother with the UK when all the action is in fast-growing, emerging markets or the US, fund managers ask.

British manufacturing is back in the spotlight now that Donald Trump is in the White House, threatening the withdrawal of US defence cover. His trade tariffs are part of the same story. They are aimed at manufactured imports, to illustrate the cost to Europe, China and others of not agreeing to all of Trump’s main political aims. Then they are withdrawn or delayed at a moment’s notice, as Mexico’s government can attest, to make sure countries cannot plan or adjust to cope with the new regime.

The only way to react is to smile in Washington’s direction, as Keir Starmer has done, and plan furiously and diligently to reduce any reliance on the US.