[prewett]

If the Conservatives think Singapore's state plays a small role, they must be thinking about some mythical Singapore, because the real one is pretty authoritarian (although it seems to act for the public good) and fairly involved. Also, I think it is easier to have "good" government of a city-state size with a homogeneous population than for something an order of magnitude more people and with a non-homogenous population.

Based on my British Brexit friend, I suggest another school of thought: concern for sovereignty but not nationalist. The EU rules requiring free movement result in people from poorer countries willing to work for lower wages depress wages for British people. Also, the free movement is essentially unlimited immigration and the society can't absorb as many immigrants as have been coming.

[toyg]

> If the Conservatives think Singapore's state plays a small role, they must be thinking about some mythical Singapore

These elites speak in abstract terms, typically of things they never actually experienced or seriously analysed. They largely dabble in ideology, mostly to cover the immediate interests of themselves and their cronies.