Britain is broke, not broken.

At a time when things are not going as we would like, is there still hope in our nation?

Britain looks battered. Sackings, strikes, marches in the streets and a government staggering from one crisis to the next so it’s easy to conclude we are finished. That we are not just broke, but broken.

I say that’s rubbish.

Yes, we are broke. Our debts are suffocating, our infrastructure is crumbling, and our government has run out of ideas. But broken? No. A broken country does not produce global research breakthroughs, or maintain financial institutions that power the world’s trade. A broken country does not spawn start-ups at record speed or create the Oxford vaccine in under a year.

Britain is not broken. Britain still has the talent, the institutions and the imagination to thrive. The critical ingredient we lack is honesty and courage.

Look around. Our universities brim with young people who want to build, not just slot themselves into safe careers. They rip up the rulebook and launch companies from bedrooms and basements across the country.

Manchester's tech corridor rivals any in Europe. Newcastle has more startups than many of our European neighbours. Scotland's energy sector – carbon-based and renewable – is world class. Wales’ cyber and manufacturing output drives growth. And in Northern Ireland, aerospace and cybersecurity industries thrive.

That is the real Britain. Distracted, perhaps. Disoriented, yes. But far from broken.

The problems we face are serious. Inflation is heading north. Productivity has flatlined. Too much capital is frozen in property and pensions instead of being invested in businesses that stimulate growth.

The state is hooked on debt. For every pound we produce, another is already promised away. Pretending otherwise is a con on the young, who will foot the bill in suffocating taxes until they take their talents abroad.

If we carry on like this, decline becomes destiny. Broke will turn into broken. But it’s not too late to turn the ship around. There is another way.

It starts with hard choices. We can slash debt now, or we can wait until markets do it for us and be more brutal. We can free investment to back entrepreneurs, or we can watch as our rivals seize the future. We can strip away regulators and regulations that smother growth, or we can slowly strangle ourselves with red tape. Every vested interest will howl. Let them. The alternative is worse.

The strikes and the marches are not proof of collapse. They are proof that the old model has failed. A new one must be born. That requires courage - politicians willing to be unpopular, voters willing to face reality, a country willing to endure pain in order to prosper.

We are broke. But broke is not broken. Broken countries do not lead in science, finance, technology, or the arts. They do not command investment or imagination. Britain still does all these things. What is needed now is the honesty to say where we are, and the guts to do what must be done.

The choice is ours. If we choose honesty and courage, we can rebuild Britain stronger than ever. If we shrink from it, we will finally learn what broken really means.