...and now Britain is a first-world economy with a very high standard of living and home to one of the greatest financial centers in the history of the world.
About half of England (the bit closest to London) is in a good state, Wales not so much, likewise much of The North.
How much of the blame you assign to the Tories, to Brexit, to Covid, and to the global economic repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is up for debate; but the quality of life was very noticeably worse when I last visited friends and family back on the island, compared to my final pre-lockdown trip.
However, none of that is quite as substantial as the colossal loss of relative power that came from the pyrrhic victories of the two World Wars that cost it control of the largest empire the world had ever seen, and left it losing a series of disputes over fishing rights to a country whose primary military forces are its coast guard.
>left it losing a series of disputes over fishing rights to a country whose primary military forces are its coast guard
Why shouldn't Iceland be in control of fishing in own waters and instead expect it to give it up to the UK to come and take as it pleases? Using your navy to take other country's resources is basically a war crime.
This particular series of disputes was regarding the increase of "it's own waters" from 3 miles from the coast to 12/200 miles and if that was even legit.
How much of the blame you assign to the Tories, to Brexit, to Covid, and to the global economic repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is up for debate; but the quality of life was very noticeably worse when I last visited friends and family back on the island, compared to my final pre-lockdown trip.
However, none of that is quite as substantial as the colossal loss of relative power that came from the pyrrhic victories of the two World Wars that cost it control of the largest empire the world had ever seen, and left it losing a series of disputes over fishing rights to a country whose primary military forces are its coast guard.