After Brexit, Britain’s competitors are running rings around us. Sunak’s not even at the races

‘Rishi Sunak doesn’t have a plan, but he has a plan for making a plan, beginning with a reorganisation of Whitehall.’ Photograph: Reuters

Britain’s future will be shaped by a summit of European leaders this week, but Rishi Sunak, as prime minister of a very sovereign nation, will be absent.

It is one of the more subtle degradations of life outside the European Union. Heads of government gather in Brussels to decide things that affect British voters, who are represented by an empty chair.