Dean Acheson in a speech that he gave at
West Point in 1962, famously stated that
Great Britain having lost an empire had
not yet found a role. It followed Britain's
last fling of the imperial dice in 1956 with
the aborted anglo-French invasion of the
Suez Canal.
Half a century later, a new role for
Britain has been in the making. It
reflects the cultural osmosis that
has occurred between Britain and the
fifty-three sovereign states of its
Commonwealth. But forget the
English language, rule of law and
parliamentary democracy
bequeathed by British Empire to
countries around the world. These
are mainly of historical, rather than
contemporary significance.
Not so the more unfortunate legacy
of empire: that of guilt in the minds
of those who run Britain, guilt which
has an undue influence in defining the
UK's role in the world today. It is far
removed from empire, almost
apologising for its past, to one of
mass immigration, squandered
foreign aid and subjugation to a
corrupt, unaccountable and largely
bankrupt EU.
The guilt of empire has characterised the
mission of successive governments. It has
been to pursue lofty, domestic global,
social aspirations, supported by mounting
national debt, sluggish growth and
quantitative easing. Money produced
out of thin air for which there will be
a heavy price to pay in inflation.
The UK fiscal deficit is currently
£120bn, accelerating partly as
a result of 2.5m unemployed. The
Government is currently advertising
800,000 positions at EU job-centres.
Applicants are entitled to taxpayer-
funded expenses for attending
interviews in the Britain and employers
given £1,000 for each person taken on.
Annual national debt interest is now
roughly equal to the amount spent on
defence.
A world of economic fantasy has been
created, in order to pay for the things
that we simply cannot afford, both
for the inhabitants of Britain and,
seemingly, the world. For example, the
NHS - described as the global health
service - with a ring-fenced budget of
£130bn, is on the verge of collapse.
The annual health budget is increasing
at the rate of over 4% while NHS
inflation is running at 7%. Annual
savings of £50bn will have tobe made
by 2020, which points to armageddon.
This is against the background of
increasing longevity, an explosion of
obesity, incompetent political and
operational management, together
with the cost of new advances in
healthcare
Labour's clandestine policy of
allowing 4m foreign nationals to
settle in Britain - Europe's most
densely populated country - has put
intolerable pressure on the social
infrastructure. It is a case of infinite
demand and finite resources, right
across the piece.
In addition to escalating demand for
healthcare, by 2014 there will be a
250,000 shortfall in primary school
places. Many will be for children for
whom English is not their first
language.
There will be a shortfall of 1m in
affordable housing by 2021. The
ongoing consequence of rising
homelessness is the appearance of
immigrant shanty encampments
spreading from inner cities to rural
areas, changing the countryside
and creating a serious health risk.
Thomas Paine, a leading architect
of the US Constitution, wrote of The
Age of Reason. Future historians will
surely view the present as the age of
madness. It is one from which we shall
only emerge when reality imposes its
discipline on a continually expanding
State, which cannot for much longer
defy the economic laws of gravity.
John Barker, MA, accepts commissions
to research and write articles on business,
economics and politics, together with
market research reports.
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