The end of an era
It’s difficult to exactly pinpoint which straw was the one that broke the camel’s back.
Was it:
- the semi-serious jibe to make Canada the 51st state?
- the genuinely serious attempt to annex Greenland from an ally against the citizens wishes?
- criticising free speech in the UK, whilst simultaneously banning journalists who don’t call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America?
- chastising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not seeking peace, when his country was the target of a full-scale invasion?
It’s now widely understood by Britons that there is no special relationship.
Arguably, there never was.
The US government never provided aid to the UK without payment or the expectation of repayment during either World War.
On 21 Feb 1940, a Gallup poll asked Americans:
If it appears that Germany is defeating England and France, should the United States declare war on Germany and send our army and navy to Europe to fight?
The results: Yes (23%), No (77%)
In both wars, they joined only after a direct threat/attack on the US.
In 2025, the United States is a highly unreliable ally. Previously, we were only really able to rely on them acting within their own selfish interests. Now, even that seems unlikely.
What next for the UK?
Modern Britain doesn’t have a clearly formed identity based on inalienable principles and a constitution. People have their own ideas of what Britishness is, what Britain should represent, and what it should do — but these views are not universally-held.
In particular, finding values that a majority of Britons are willing to fight for is difficult. Younger people especially, have been disenfranchised by Britishness in the wake of Brexit, causing them to live in a country which they feel doesn’t represent them.
It is my opinion that Britain has (to this point) been hamstrung by a lack of ambition and imagination in defining our identity. Younger generations have to this point been reluctant to fully buy in to traditional British values; seeing them as uncool, stale and “for dinosaurs”. Older generations see those same values with a sense of nostalgia (and in many cases, the old school stuff really just is better).
And as we proceed through 2025, perhaps both groups will come to recognise that something needs to be done.
In the absence of a clear identity, a void has formed.
And in that void, a new culture is in prime position to fill it.
Americana
If there was anything to Unite the Kingdom enough to result in the kind of change needed to forge an identity, the fear of becoming American might just be it.