Here is Britain’s new place in the world – on the sidelines | Martin Kettle

Trapped by Brexit and Trump, and delusional about trade, Theresa May will cut a sad figure on the G20 stage

• Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist

How knowingly we all nodded six months ago, when Theresa May went to a Brussels summit and no one talked to her. While the 27 other leaders greeted one another warmly and went off to dinner, May cut a lonely figure, returning quickly to London. It was Jona Lewie’s song about always being in the kitchen at parties made real. And it was a Brexit metaphor incarnate.

But we hadn’t seen anything yet. Back then, the early post-Brexit confidence still lay around May’s shoulders. The leave vote still fresh, she could brush off the isolation, political dignity intact, and ratings still rising. Six months on, still in office but no longer in power, much has changed. When May takes to the international stage in Hamburg tomorrow for the G20 summit, she will be a more isolated figure than ever.

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