Many proponents of Brexit envision creating a Singapore on Thames, with dreams of a low-tax, light-regulation, and high growth economy. The vision is right, but their analysis of what makes Singapore a success is flawed. This is the first of a series of articles on what Britain and others can learn from the Lion City.

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My direct experience taught me that Singapore’s strength comes from its strategic investments in infrastructure and key sectors of the economy, its focus on continually improving the education and skill-set of its people, long-term strategic planning, a national vision shared by its diverse population, and strong leadership. None of these are true of the current British government and in fact its heading in the opposite direction.

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From its founding in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, who took advantage of Singapore’s geography to build a trading hub, to Lee Kuan Yew who led Singapore from 1959 to independence from Britain, then Malaya, Singapore has always stood out from its neighbours.

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A Birth More Painful than Brexit

If the challenges of Brexit are daunting, the situation Singapore faced when it was unceremoniously booted out of the Federation of Malaya over political differences in 1965, were much worse. Strongman Lee Kuan Yew was even moved to tears on national TV, having believed his whole adult life in the need for the territories to be united for political, economic and geographic reasons.

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A port city, Singapore had lost its common market and hinterland. It was plagued, not just by industrial unrest but the communist infiltration which effected the rest of Southeast Asia, and an unemployment rate of about 9%. It had no natural resources and no industrial base. Much of the rapidly growing population lived in overcrowded urban slums in ethnic enclaves, with many others in squatter colonies in the urban fringes called “kampungs.” Even water and food had to be imported.

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Singapore was expected to fail, and beg Malaya for reentry under any conditions. Instead, under the guidance of UN economic advisor Albert Winsemius, and the vision and determination of Lee, Singapore set out on the path to prosperity.

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Necessity was the mother of invention, and Singapore sought to add value wherever it could. Mangrove swamps in the west of the island were drained, and state-of-the-art industrial parks were built to attract foreign investors.

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The port and airport were expanded and continue to be to this day, with the Port of Singapore the world’s busiest transshipment port, and Changi airport rated the world’s best. With no oil-supply of its own, Singapore encouraged Esso and Shell to set up refineries on its offshore islands. Even the water that came from Malaysia was properly treated in Singapore and sent back across the causeway at a profit.

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By 1975 Singapore had achieved full employment, while its former colonial master was getting ready to go cap in hand to the IMF.

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Investing in People - Housing

Most importantly, Singapore invested in its own people, which are its only real resource. This is especially true when it comes to housing, education and lifelong learning.

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A public housing program had been started by the British, and was accelerated by Lee Kuan Yew once he came into power and led by the Housing Development Board (HDB). A huge fire in the kampung at Bukit Ho Swee in 1960 that left 16,000 people homeless underscored the urgent need.

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Singaporeans were moved out of their simple, shack-style “kampungs” in the jungle and crowded city housing in ethnically distinct neighborhoods, into modern flats built by the Housing and Development Board and accelerated by the Land Acquisition Act on 1966. This massive program also saw greater racial integration and quickly moved from providing rental properties to affordable homes to buy.

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In 1960, 9% of Singaporeans lived in public housing. Today, that figure is 80%, with 90% owning their own home. In the UK, the national housing waiting list is over 1 million household. In 2019 the UK built just 37,825 new homes for letting at discounted rent. In 2019 Singapore, with less than a tenth of the UK population completed over 13,000 new HDB units with about 73,000 under construction.

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New towns continue to be built, complete with state-of-the-art schools, childcare and elderly facilities, shopping, cultural and eating hubs, mass-rapid transit to downtown, and integrated transport within. Stockbrokers live side-by-side with factory workers. Such good facilities mean that these high-rise HDB new towns avoided becoming the “sink estates” that became typical of some UK public housing.

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While Thatcher’s right to buy scheme may have head the correct sentiment, the death of new build public housing, continues to hold Britons and the country back and denies too many people a stake in their future.

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Young Britons struggle to get onto the housing ladder, while the HDB makes Singapore housing affordable, and the unique Central Provident Fund system often means it can be owned and paid for without much out-of-pocket expense.

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The UK is expected to pay about 17 billion pounds on Housing Benefits alone in 2020/21 – helping to pay the rent of tenants in the private sector. Much of this money going to the pocket of slum landlords. Imagine even half this amount being spent building new homes each year, adding to the housing supply and actually solving the housing crisis rather than expensively papering over the cracks.

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If Britain wants to become a Singapore on Thames, it could start by emulating its lessons in housing.

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To learn more policy lessons from Singapore, do get in touch.