Stepping off the ultra-fast, ultra-efficient, ultra-smooth light railway system from Bergen Lufthavn Airport to the centre of town is like stepping into a vision of what London could look like in 15 or 20 years time: sustainable transport, clean streets, green spaces, and public infrastructure that actually works. 

I had always heard Norway and certain parts of Sweden and Denmark described by breathless Scandinavian enthusiasts as ‘utopian,’ an adjective derived from the Ancient Greek for ‘no place’ – a place that’s literally too good to be true. But I was shocked to see all the talk of ‘prosperity’ and ‘the Norway model’ I’d read about in post-Brexit newspaper columns fully realised before my very eyes. 

The most remarkable and humane discovery has been the way in which social care is manifestly placed at the heart of Norway’s national ethos. Selflessness and compassion is not just totemic, but built into the Norwegian system. The elderly are cared for by free universal healthcare, leveraged by high taxes. Children are provided with free education that focusses on creativity, innovation, and physical education. 

Workers are cared for with 9-4 shifts that foster work-life balance and increased recreational and family time, or time to spend pursuing innumerable outdoor, health-bringing pursuits. The unemployed and disabled are cared for with considerable benefits.

And it shows. Norway is routinely ranked in the top 5 countries in the World Happiness Report. The majority of people look visibly content. Drivers stop for you at zebra crossings. Children run around and play. For all its reputation as a home of digital nomads, there are few stressed faces buried in smartphones. An old lady, a total stranger, asked me to help her carry some heavy bags across the road. I willingly obliged.

Yes, the Winters are dark, and with the high cost of living, a bottle of water can cost upwards of £10. But nobody’s complaining when they see the results: one of the most advanced welfare systems in the world, high levels of public trust in government, and a mixed economy that promotes low income inequality. 

So what’s not to like? While this model of governance works for a country like Norway with one of the largest sovereign wealth funds drawn from huge natural oil and gas reserves and a long-founded commitment to socially democratic and welfarist policies, it becomes difficult to see it extended to other nations and systems. 

It couldn’t work for the UK, for example (at least in the short-term), with its deep-seated class divides and inequalities in income, education, and living standards, fostered by a traditionally conservative culture that has largely leaned into free-market policies and a system that promotes individualism. 

The UK doesn’t have nearly as many natural resources to draw from to bolster any sovereign wealth fund – that certainly would come in handy for solving many of our public service ills. 

While of course it’s never impossible, it’s unlikely for Britain to raise taxes, even under a Labour government, to such high levels to fund such extensive public services. The UK’s economic model has historically favoured lower taxes and lower public spending. 

The British people maintain a deep-seated suspicion of higher taxes – it’s for this reason that Keir Starmer has pledged not to increase Income Tax, National Insurance, or VAT. An alternative Britain, ruled by higher taxes, would require a significant fiscal policy shift as well as much rallying and persuasion of the demos.