The populist right wants to remake the UK in the image of Dubai. We should all be careful what they wish for | Jonathan Liew

Politicians and influencers eulogise the emirate as a place of cleanliness, convenience and low crime. The truth is far darkerI arrived at my friend’s apartment close to midnight, crumpled and groggy, too weary to do anything except brush my teeth and go to bed. Open the suitcase: no toothpaste. No problem, my friend insisted, grabbing his phone with the little twinkle in his eye that people get when they’re about to show off a neat trick. They deliver everything here, he said. We’ll call the store downstairs. And so it was with a kind of slack-jawed astonishment I answered the doorbell nine minutes later to a man in a motorcycle helmet, proffering a single blue carrier bag containing a single tube of Colgate, taking the money and receding wordlessly back into the night.This, a decade ago, was my first contact with Dubai. And though of course you can get gig-economy groceries in most major cities these days, Dubai still stands out as a world of shortcuts and simple conveniences, a world of abundance and plenty, a world where everyone and everything has its price. If you fancy a quadruple-decker club sandwich at 3am, Dubai has you covered. Taxis are cheap and everywhere. At the famous Friday brunches hosted by most of the luxury hotels, afternoons dissolve in a bouquet of bottomless fizz, the plates shovelled high with food that will never be eaten. For three weeks I drifted through its five-star establishments and pristine malls, pursued by aggressive blasts of air conditioning, trying not to look into the shadows.Jonathan Liew is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

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