Firstly, I will state upfront that I am British but am I proud of it? Well many years ago I was proud to be British. Being British meant that you enjoyed a first class education, benefited from a free national health service and had the security of a strong economy. We manufactured goods: automobiles, steel, cars, we had a flourishing ship building industry, coal, latterly a great oil industry, and 101 other things. You were free to do what you wanted – well with limitations – I could join a demonstration, I could be a Tory, a Labourite, a Liberal Democrat, a communist, a fascist – you name it - I could throw eggs at the Prime Minister, I could denigrate religions, I could get drunk if I wanted – in other words, I was free to do my own thing. I had the right to vote in one of the greatest democracies in the world. Great Britain was a country attractive to many potential immigrants. We produced some of the greatest music of the last 150 years, we invented things, the Great British Pound (GBP) was a pillar of global foreign exchange markets, we had some of the finest universities in the world (still do) and yet why are we not “Great” any more?
Well, let’s start with economics. As I write this article we have just had a general election. We now have a hung parliament with no party enjoying an overall majority. This is exactly what the global stock markets and foreign currency exchanges were dreading. The result? Within hours of the election result, pound sterling fell against all major currencies – it took a hammering! The hung parliament added to the world’s stock markets in near collapse although the major cause of that was Greece’s deep financial trouble. What else? The country is drowning in a sea of debt both at Governmental and personal levels. It is predicted that the Bank of England will soon have to raise interest rates. This makes our exports less attractive to overseas markets, it will cause High Street prices to rise, and, in the background lurking in the shadows like the Sword of Damocles, higher unemployment. More people on the dole results in a higher unemployment benefits expenditure which, clearly, the Governement cannot afford. So, how does the Government resolve this problem? It simply borrows more money; it’s an endless cycle and a Gordian Knot wrapped into one.
There is immigration. Put simply, over the last 25 years, Great Britain has opened its doors to all and sundry. To a certain extent this has resulted in ethnic tensions in many of our big cities. It has given rise to the English Defence League, a thugish organisation whose sole raison d’etre is the elimination of Islam in our society. The British National Party is more popular than ever. Inner city violence is on the increase, drug addiction is at an all time high, and prostitution is stronger than ever. The problem is the Government hasn’t the financial resources to bolster our police forces. Law and order is on the verge of breaking down completely. Our military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan (which we can’t afford) has left millions of Moslems around the world hating us (as they do America). It was conjectured by a leading economist recently that Britain is running out of oil and we are now a major gas importer having recently penned a deal to buy Qatari gas for the next 10 years. And I’ll tell you a fact that brought all this home to me. At the height of Britain’s worst winter in 30 years it was stated by a cabinet minister that the country, if temperatures didn’t rise quickly, had exactly five days gas supplies left. As it happened, temperatures did increase, but goodness only knows what would have happened if they stayed below freezing!
So, if someone asked me the question, am I proud to be British, I would have to answer with a consumate ‘NO’. Britain today is a society bursting at the seams with debt, a failing economy and worrying ethnic tensions, which is why I am not planning returning any time soon.
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