In my small town of Sharon, tucked away in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, the 250^th fourth of July commemoration was celebrated on the green with the firing of a cannon at noon, followed by the reading aloud of the Declaration of Independence in 95 degree heat.  No doubt the free ice cream helped to cool down the brave souls dressed in authentic 18^th century woolen clothing playing the parts.  The feeling of authenticity deepened in the evening which we all spent in candlelight after a series of immensely violent storms tore through the region knocking out power for a huge part of the State.

At the local level, the 250^th feels like it has been a joyous community event, whilst nationally, like everything else, it has been the subject of political debate and tension which will intensify as the country heads towards the mid-term elections in November.

But while the political debate is fierce here in the USA, it doesn’t have the same consequences that we have seen yet again in the UK, where for the fourth time in ten years (fifth if you count David Cameron) a Prime Minister has been forced to step down by their own party while holding a majority of seats in the House of Commons.  When Sir Keir Starmer took office, we wished him well in his endeavors, and we will do the same for his successor, more than likely to be Andy Burnham; but we will also remind the new administration that real business confidence and growth will only come if there are genuinely pro-growth policies in place.  Tax, regulation, energy and labor costs have all gone in the wrong direction for businesses over the last two years while public spending has continued to rise.