Brexit is starting to feel like Suez all over again

Britain’s post-imperial hangover has lasted for generations, right up to today’s Brexiteers

Anthony Eden with Gamal Abdel Nasser, a year before the Suez crisisGetty

Mention the words ‘Suez crisis’ in the company of British politicians or historians, and watch your companions turn a whiter shade of pale. I have a strange feeling that in the coming years, the mention of Brexit may well evoke a similar reaction. We all know lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but what about history?

The Suez story is as bizarre as it is revealing. Right now, I think we ...