London regains world leadership

Britain lost its great power status during the first decade after World War II. For decades GB was settled into the role of junior partner to the United States. London used military force only in conjunction with Washington, or sometimes with its approval.

But situation changed in 2010 when David Cameron’s government came to power.
First, the United Kingdom formed a long-term alliance with France that changed the balance of power inside the European Union, altering Germany’s strategic position

Second, Britain returned to Mediterranean politics as a result of the Libyan war.

Finally London not only has become more involved in the activities of the European Union but also make certain steps toward reviving old-buried Folkland dispute.

But the most important problem is Energy. Over the past decade, it has been British diplomacy which has been the main opponent to Russian-German energy rapprochement. London has supported the efforts of the East-Central European countries to block the Nord Stream pipeline. Britain has also urged Russia to ratify the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty, and insisted that Germany strengthen its cooperation with EU institutions on energy issues. The formation of the French-British duo and the strengthening of London’s position in the Mediterranean may increase the European Union’s covert opposition to Russian energy policy.

This is the summary of the article published on www.valdaiclub.com

 

It is an interesting proposition , but I am surprised to see an Armenian ex World Chess Champion bringing it to our attention . ))
Early days .
We certainly are on the top side of Europe because we are not in the Euro Zone and our debts are mainly long dated , otherwise we would be in mire .
We do lack potential for growth because our manufacturing options are so limited --- very small amounts of natural resources and high labour costs .That is why the Financial Services Sector is so important and we must try everything possible to retain our present leader position .
Our weakness is the energy sector and it worries me that we do not have Norway as our bosom buddies --- so much gas , oil and water that I believe they are per capita the richest industrialised country in the world .
And possibly it is this one area that has led us to our present situation vis a vis US policies . We still need to act as a US proxy in defined situations to have the best chance of energy when other options look bad .Until we no longer "need" them in such areas , we must be duplicitous -- something we have learned to be very good at from Empire days until now .
I suspect our smart leaders privately hate the level of support we have given the US and NATO ( same thing) in Afghanistan , Iraq , Libya and now Syria -- let alone in other areas like Israel and Iran .But I guess we have to never forget we are fighting way above our natural weight and it is better short term to be pals with the school bully and even best mates in his eyes .

 

LATEST BORROWING FIGURES ARE TERRIFIC
Eat your heart out Ed Balls and Labour Party supporters .
A translation into Scotty Speak will appear later




Britain enjoyed the highest monthly surplus for four years in January, boosting hopes that the government will do better than its annual borrowing target, official data showed on Tuesday.
The public sector net borrowing measure logged a surplus of £7.8 billion (9.3 billion euros, $12.3 billion) last month -- which was the biggest since January 2008, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
That compared with a surplus of £5.2 billion in January 2011. Market expectations had been for a surplus of £6.4 billion, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The public finances usually register a surplus in January because they are lifted by annual taxation receipts and in this instance were also helped by the government's ongoing austerity drive.
In another piece of upbeat news, borrowing in the previous nine months of the 2011/2012 financial year was revised down by £2.1 billion to £93.5 billion after local government spending was lower than previously thought.
That raised hopes that the coalition government will beat its target to reduce borrowing to £127 billion in the current fiscal year that runs until the end of March.