Thank you for an excellent article, Mr Hames. I'm pleased that at least someone in Britain is able to peer past Iraq and see Britain's place in the world, and Mr Blair's legacy, clearly.

What worries me is that so few of your countrymen agree, and that most seem to be going the way of some parts of Continental Europe in their reflexive anti-Americanism, ignorant Israel-bashing and generally myopic approach to world affairs. In short, the long view you have adopted here is in short supply. Please keep supplying it.

T.P., Newcastle, Australia

I do agree that in many ways Britain is stronger than it has ever been, bar the ages of the empire, but the sacrifices that the British people have to make is for the gain of the very wealthy few. The scandal over the past ten years of government (Brown's ranch meetings, cash for honours, Kelly suicide, Blunkett, road charging fiasco, NHS debacle, the increasingly poor state of education - the list is endless) is made common only by the wealthy gaining and the masses losing out. If I am certain of anything for the future of Britain, it is that we will be fed the same rhetoric of gloss. The overriding memory is of Blair being stunned by a member of the public informing him that he could no longer book an advanced appointment with his GP due to Government targets. Politicians have become detatched from it's Britains, who now take second place to the rest of the worlds' money. I increasingly get the feeling that the government can't get enough money out of us for their sticky paws.

A Kipling, Birmingham,

Dick - you missed the date of the data in the Unicef report - 1999. So not really all down to Blair! Still a shocking indictment that 3m children can be in even relative poverty in the 4th largest economy...

Philip of Samaria, Odiham,

Reading this nonesense made me check the calendar to see whether today was April 1st..On Europe,nothing has been done to roll back the stifling bureaucracy and gross inefficiency of this modern-day leviathan.Membership costs us tens of millions a year,with very little in return.When was the last time that it was possible for the EU accounts to be signed off as correct ? On Iraq,Blair led us into an illegal,immoral,and unwinnable war.The cost to the tax-payer has been immense;our security has at home has been undermined;and our credibility on the international stage diminished.If Blair's Britain has really become the second most powerful country in the world,it is somewhat ironic that we seem to have neither the money nor the will to provide the troops stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan with the minimum resources they need to do their job.This is a high price to pay for one man's overweening vanity.It will always be a mystery why Blair,seemingly intelligent and centreist for the most part,chose to ride shotgun to probably the most dim-witted American President in history.

Robin Kempster, Brighouse, England

So are we to disregard moral integrity in the name of strength? Entirely unconvinced by this piece. A preoccupation with "Britain’s ranking in the international pecking order" seems deeply myopic in assessing Blair's legacy - to celebrate winning the "silver medal" in international politics misses the point.

Nick P, London,

If the mark of our power is our ability to deploy troops overseas what does that say about our political development since the days of empire? That's apart from the premise that "Economic power is the basis of foreign policy power". Combined with the shift to a service-based economy, that places our ability to project military power in the hands of city slickers and gamblers. Unfortunately, as the aftermath of Iraq has shown , the gamblers lost. Afghanistan was necessary and I can agree with heading off the power vacuum of an imploding Iraq when Saddam Hussein finally fell, but the failure to properly assess and plan for the aftermath has left the UK in a seriously weak position for self-defence. With a potentially resurgent Russia under Vladmir Putin and the growing might of China, can we really afford that? We are still an island, but Blair is ignoring the security of our air and sea lanes. Do we really want to be totally reliant on Germany, France and the US for that?

KR, Stockport,

So this is the reason why the UK is at the bottom of the UNICEF Child Welfare Study...

Dick Hewett, South Hamilton, MA/USA

now you cannot buy a knighthood does Mr Hames think he might creep towards one

arthur haldenby, malton, yorkshire

Well done Mr Hames. At last, a balanced view of the real world.
Above all, Blair's legacy will be that he stood against the extraordinary hatred of the US exponunded in the mainstream British media, propagated by a morally bankrupt self-appointed left-liberal elite, that prefers to stand shoulder to shoulder with neo-facist fundamentalists than allow any credit to this or any other US administration, In many ways, Blair, through his internationalist and interventionist doctrine, has become, almost by default, a genuine socialist. In addition to foreign policy, he is the first Prime Minister in a generation to recognise that we in this country have social and community problems and has made a lot of progress to rectify them. The fact that the media gave such wide exposure last week to a report on children that is 6 or 7 years out of date is quite simply a reflection of the lengths that some will go to discredit him.

John Wardle, Blackburn, UK

I tend to agree with both W Fuller and Luca Menato, is Tim Hames a Times Correspondent or a 10 Downing Street 'Spin-Associate'?

Come off it! Blair has reaped the benefit of what M Thatcher undertook to do successfully; i.e. turn the British economy around and get people into work after so many years of Labour decline.

Luca above has highlighted problems everybody in England experiences. Get them out before desaster hits us again because M Thatcher's legacy is being wasted away ever more quickly.

Bernard, Leicester, England

What planet are you on, Tim? The UK used to be the number one choice of people wanting to live in relative peace and harmony. Where is the peace and harmony these days? Terrorism, unrestricted gun use, drug crime, gang warfare and spiralling housing and living costs make the UK one of the last places anyone in their right mind would choose to move to now.

Caroline Kennedy, San Jose, Costa Rica

Most of the countries of the world talk about world problems. And talk and talk and talk.

The US and the Great Brits (try to) Do something about them. In the process we makes some mistakes. OK, maybe some beauts.

But our overall end result: The wold is a better place for ALL. Leaders lead - , and we do.

Bob Hall, New York, United States

incredible,fantastic,unbelievable. literally, and in any order you wish. If what we have lived through is good government God help us through a poor one. Top marks for satire intended or otherwise.

trevor speight, leeds,

all Blair did either Good or bad is in the interest of the uk not any other country

mo, london, uk

Seriously Margaret? You can't see the difference? Saddam was a dictator who killed the helpless and voiceless, the current war pits his spiritual heirs who cannot abide the idea that they are not permitted to continue his legacy of prejudice and murder against a (flawed) democratically elected government which, if it wasn't fighting for its life might have built a country for all Iraqis to prosper in.

The opposition militias in Iraq are not fighting for freedom, they are fighting to maintain a cruel power. They could have joined a government, could have helped write a constitution and built their country up but no, Saddams legacy of hate and fear and privilige proved too much.

Warren Blore, Sydney, Australia

If Invading othe countries have made us great as you suggest, then which contry are we going to invade next. After a few more such invasions we might become the greatest. what is stopping us?

Abdul Basit, Newcastle, U.K.

In this decade, we've all been very fortunate to have three strong world leaders in George W Bush, Tony Blair, and John Howard. If you think I'm wrong, then name one other.

Jerry Baustian, San Diego, California

Sadly I cannot forget the war in Iraq. In our democratic country where a certain Dr Kelly tried to voice his uncontriversial honest opinion on the case for war (which was right) and who was so ruthlessly hounded for doing so. We are now in Iraq flying the flag for democracy and killing off the opposition. Somehow, there seems very little democratic about that either. I am finding it hard to see the difference in Saddam H. killing of hundreds of thousands and us doing exactly the same thing.

margaret beck, farnham, surrey, uk

Yes we have expanded... but it has been on borrowed money. Wait till our credit runs out and we have to pay back the £2 trillion we owe in National Debt, Public Sector Pension liabilities etc.

Ever wondered why the government accounts and EU accounts are not passed by their auditors?.

Brian Gilbert, HAMPTON, Middx

What a load of negative comments, Cheer up!
I've lived in Spain for three years and believe me The UK is light years ahead in every aspect you can think of! The Spanish (Catalan) Students I teach in Barcelona think London is the best city in the world (Well, after Barcelona), and that Britain has pots of money! As for Politics I couldn't care less, But who are the two most famous (or infamous) politicians in the world since the start of the century? Tell me the Prime minister of Japan???

FDP, Barcelona, Spain

I have not read anythig more superficial than Tim's comments. Economy is free standing in a global market provided the government stands aside and let it all happen. The consequences are dire: poor got poorer. there is no incentive for large number of people to work, for they are better of on the dole, their places are being taken by outsiders. There is also some anecdotal evidence of a significant growth in the so-called black economy. Difficulties in France Germany and Italy arise from the fact the governments there are forced to hang on to some of the social benefits established over a long period of struggle by left-wing political parties and trade unions. On foreign policy the government has compromised the ability of the international community to participate in collective action by tagging along the US uninlateralist stance.

sinna mani, London, United Kingdom

As the bombs fell onto civilians in the 'Shock and Awe' phase of the invasion of Iraq, it became clear to me that I would never vote Labour again whilst Tony Blair was in charge. That is his legacy to this lifelong former Labour voter.

Brian O'Connell, Liverpool, UK

An interesting and persuasive article. One way of measuring cultural influence worldwide is to examine the reporting of a nation by the foreign press. Thanks to Diana, Big Brother, the Queen's Jubilee and other matters, Britain is again one of the world's cultural hot-spots. The transition from heavy industry to high value-added financial and business services has placed Britain ahead of many European competitors including Germany and Italy. Britain's economy remains fourth-largest in the world when measured in dollar terms, even when measured against China.

Britons should look to the future with confidence and try to eliminate the pernicious cussedness and whinging that worryingly now seem to define us. All of us, by any measure, have never had it so good, and yet all the Jeremiahs can talk about is ID cards and teenagers trying cannabis. Crazy.

Luke, Lincoln, England

Words that come to mind: hubris, pride and fall.
The humongous amount of debt piled up in Britain is just unearned spending and the abismal trade deficit is the most visible and immediate consequence. The cursory plotting of Britain's economic path as described here is so closely related to the exchange rate of the Pound from grossly undervalued to grossly overvalued that it is its only link to reality. Manufacturing can be a success as Germany proves by being the first exporter in the world. As for France, the high speed train we use is French, Airbus and the European Space Agency wouldn't exist without the French. What happened to Britain, this great nation of engineers?

John, London, UK

Thank you for setting out the Blair visions. So many people only think of Irag. Perhaps history will have an interesting 'take' on the war in the years ahead, .He has certainly felt passionately about various parts of the world not least N. Ireland where a settlement might be immient.

Richard Winn, Bistol, UK

The things that Tim Hames reckons make Britain powerful (the language, the City, the armed forces) either lie outside the government's control or have an ethos which resists it. English is widespread because it's the international language of business - ie, it's what the people in the world's biggest economy speak. Our educational bodies are riding on those coat-tails, and welcome foreign students because they pay full fees. Without the City, which knows it is untouchable, Britain's economy would cut a shabby figure. And we know very well what our forces think of our government.

Whereas the things that make Britain an international by-word for incompetence (the NHS, the education system, the infrastructure, the ill-conceived initiatives in everything from multiculturalism to the Dome, the burgeoning underclass, etc) can be laid directly at the door of 10 Downing Street. Yes, thanks, Tony!

Neil, London, England

Hames fails to notice that our economic feel-good factor depends on the greatest load of debt in our history. When the binge is over I think the short-sighted pundits like Hames will realize that they have been living in cloud-cukoo land.

Anthony Back, Wellington, Telford, England

Oh dear, the English language has conquered the world because of Hollywood, not because of anything the UK has done. In foreign policy, blair might get to share a stage with Bush, but only when Bush lets him. The best description of Blair I have heard is Bush's lap-dog. Oonomic influence remains. Immigratns come to eh UK because of the money, not becuase they want British culture. Only money has propelled Britian into the big league.

Richard, Edinburgh,

Economic growth is a poor measure of success. It can, after all, be generated by an expanding population living on the breadline. How is that a good thing? If this innovative article was intended seriously, I fear for Tim Hames's relationship with reality. By this definition of being great, the sooner we revert to progressive decline, the better for all of us.

Alan Johnson, Alton, Hants

An article with points well made- Blair prevented a minor catastrophe in the Balkans, delivered the Afghanis from the violent Taliban and stands firm in the face of more terror in Iraq - why not, as a nation step back and acknowledge that this is a man who we've democratically elected three times in a row?

Sorab, London, England

The penchant in this country for moaning is never better exemplified than by the comments posted here. Apart from education, I would argue that everything Blair has done has been in the long-term interests of this country. Personal debt is a by-product of a successful economy - would you rather have recession and unemployment?
'Special' or not, our relationship with the US is vital to the long-term interests of this country. You have to look past the fact that they have an illiterate buffoon in charge and recognise that, in this post 9/11 world, friends have to stick together. The idea that we are 'fritter[ing] away this [economic] advantage in the wasteful pursuit of imperial grandeur' is complete nonsense. What on earth are you talking about? It is this kind of mindless criticism which aims to destroy what should be viewed as a mostly benelovent legacy.

Nick Nason, London, UK

Excellent, well written column, just about right in substance, and mercifully relaxed in tone (as opposed to most of the e-commentators, who sound like light-bulb-eating, great-hulk side-show exhibitionist acts). You miss out Blair's tempered handling of Northern Ireland, and rightfully don't try to anticipate the end product of Scotland's grievance antics, but these are also elements of Britain's 'foreign policy' that can/may resonate in the larger world.

Peter Leary, Edinburgh,

Al Gore never claimed he invented the Internet (if you can prove otherwise, please provide citation. You'll be the first to do so). Otherwise your arguments are interesting, if not entirely persuasive. But the sloppiness of the Gore cannard undermines your credibility.

John Sundman, Vineyard Haven, MA

Interesting that you chart our meteoric rise to greatness, but make no reference to the corresponding emptiness, depression and despair that now characterises Britain. We have the highest rate of abortion, debt, drug use and unhappiness in Western Europe. We permit politicians to push through legislation which is fundamentally inimical to liberty. We celebrate mediocrity; we elevate to stardom, and to untold riches, those who are average, unintelligent, memorable only by their excesses and outrageously stupid soundbites: Benthamism/Utilitarianism reigns. The greatest good (the sensation of pleasure, and freedom of pain) is awarded to the greatest number (the average). We claim to be a multicultural society, yet we inflict the pernicious concepts of 'tolerance' and 'integration' upon Islam - those with whom the government went to war, yet profess to welcome. Soon, ID cards will push us down the road to Auschwitz. No place for the Idea-Makers, this. Well done, Tony.

Mara MacSeoinin, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

I have always been of the view that the words 'democracy' and 'utopia' have no practical application in the real world. After reading this article I am inclined to chuck 'fact' into the pot as well. Where has Mr Hames been living for the past ten years?

Richard Crow, Warsaw, Poland

Hames and Blair beware,we are now going to lock up people with severe personality disorders.

John, Tyne&Wear, UK

I do not wish to denigrate Margaret Thatcher's contribution to Britain's recovery, but think that North Sea oil had more to do with it than is commonly recognised. That enabled us to pay off most of our overseas debts and also invest large sums abroad, which have proved very profitable.
However, if we wish to be a world power I suspect that we need significantly larger armed forces. The question arises as to whether we really want to do that, and whether we are willing to pay
for it. This does not appear to have been seriously debated. Is it right to build two large aircraft carriers? Is it right to modernise our nuclear weapons and, if so, with what? Presumably the government has given some thought to these matters but the public has heard very little of it.

Peter Bray, Simon's Town 7975, South Africa

The UK is actually either the 5th or 6th largest economy, depending on how GDP is measured, but not 4th. Even though the UK has clawed itself back above Italy and France and is now the fourth largest OECD industrialised (OECD) economy, the UK has, in turn, been overtaken by China in absolute terms, and also by India in Purchasing Power Parity terms.

In terms of global cultural and economic influence, brand UK is more high profile now than it has been for 60 years, but there has arguably been a Faustian trade-off in terms of a relative decline in the social welfare of the country's inhabitants.

Jonah Sabremesh, London,

Tim, what a refreshing change from our 7 days a week downers from our tabloids. The twin approach of Thatcher and Blair have put us back at the top. Blair being the better of the two. I was born just after the war, these are the best ten years of my lifetime.

G Hallett, Bradford, West Yorkshire

Fantastic article, for too long negativity has centered around Blair and Britain. You give a realistic account of a fine Prime Minister and I wish it was a more common theme. Blair has balance the U.K on the world stage in a time of trouble better than anyone has previous and I imagine better than any collegue may have. Blair is the pragmatic leader we require, I wonder if the future will be so bright.

Danny Kiernan, Loughborough,

No comments at the moment give me five years then I will come back

Firozali A.Mulla MBA PhD, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

Are Hames and Blair on the same hallucinogenic substances?

Or is it, as it reads, a job application for the Blair Foundation??

W Fuller, London, UK

You are right, of course. We are without a doubt the most powerful and biggest trouble-makers on our continent. Our interest rates are on the rise again while we contemplate the biggest personal debt mountain ever (107288 bankrupts in a year, more than ever on record, yippee!). Oh, we also work the longest hours and apparently we have the unhappiest kids too ... It sure feels good to be great. Thanks Tony and thanks Tim. I feel better now. Maybe for his next trick, Tony can make war carbon neutral ...

Luca Menato, Cheltenham, UK

The transformation of Britain’s economy is indeed staggering but as you have pointed out it hasn’t occurred during Thatcher’s period in office. I remember Maxwell Joseph of Grand Metropolitan, who was hardly a great economic seer, saying, before Thatcher gained office, that he considered Britain would become a service economy. Does Blair’s performance in this context indicate that this country is going to fritter away this advantage in the wasteful pursuit of imperial grandeur, or will it use this favourable position to assist less fortunate countries to improve their economic development - which should further improve our own. You seem to be expecting Britain to use this ‘recovery’ to indulge in a reversion to 19th century attitudes.

Henry Percy, London, UK

You must be blind Tim. The chief characteristic of Blair's Britain is that we are now a fragmented society with huge debts. For all your boasts about Britain's greatness, the fact remains that we could not, even if we wanted to, mount a Falklands campaign on our own. Our military are over-stretched because there are too of them. Our navy has shrunk to almost nothing. As for economic power? I don't believe it. In a few years, when the bills come in, we won't be able to afford all those cheap goods from China. Our own Ill-educated proletariat won't be capable of making a toaster let alone a motor car...not that many people will need one of those. With Blair's road-tolls in place it will just be too expensive to drive in 'Big Brother's' Britain. Think again Tim. John Major wasn't so bad after all!

Adrian Gilbert, Tonbridge, England

"Whatever one might think of the decisions that Mr Blair has taken, the notion that the UK-US “special relationship” is an anachronism is today incredible....." You really haven't been listening. The objection to this "special relationship" is that bad decisions have been taken in its name, that Britain has had not a jot of influence on the decision-making process and that nevertheless we are guilty with the Americans in the eyes of the world for the appalling mess that is Iraq (and Afghanistan, and Palestine,etc). Anachronism? No. Myth? Yes. It's a relationship but the only thing that is special about it is that the UK is to the US today as Bulgaria was to the Soviet Union 30 years ago.

Mod, London,

You may well have a point but beware the EU factor ! France has still not given up the idea of being a super power with the EU as the Trojan Horse. Germany has neither the will or the confidence to face France down. As long as we have the CAP France will be able to "punch above its weight" as the saying goes.

Peter Bolt, Redditch, UK

How clever of Tim Hames to see the true picture. Previously I would not have regarded record levels of public debt and taxation, failing public services, dishonest and dysfunctional government, ineffective law and order and a discredited education system as hallmarks of a succesful world power. Now I know better. His take on Europe is equally refreshing, correcting my obviously false impression that it is daily more regressive, corrupt and unpopular than ever. Please Tim, tell us more; are these insights available only to a chosen few, or is such delusion the only way of dealing with life in New Labour's paradise? My, you did make me laugh, though.

John, Anderson,

Thought-provoking. Can't say I'm wholly convinced, but it's nice to see that the Case for the Defence can occasionally be heard above the mindless roar of the Case for the Prosecution.

Ken Leyland, Liverpool, U.K.

If it was April 1st Mr Hames, I would be splitting my sides laughing!
As it i plainly isn't, where have you been this last ten years?
Did I vote Labour?
I am ashamed to admit I did!

sophie sutton, Norwich, Norfolk

can I have some of what you are smoking mate

Alex, London, UK

What a fantastic analysis. Britain stands proud as the second most important power in the world! Tim Hames, what nonsense. Toby Blair has debauched Britains reputation across the world. I'm profoundly ashamed to be English and think Tony Blair probably the worst Prime Minister we have ever had. Even worse than the apalling John Major.

AnyonebutBlair, London,

Revival? What revival? Have I missed an eart shattering event? Perhaps Mr Hames could end me a sample of whatever he was smoking & drinking before he wrote this article? Incidentally re quote 'the Prime Minister is not responsible for all....' . What about the concept of 'the buck stops here'? Or maybe just end that sentence after 'responsible' - as in 'taking responsibility'?.

Ruth , Poole, England

I must congratulate Mr. Hames on an admirable use of double-think.

Daniel Priestley, Belfast,

To say that "Their principal objection to the Blair role in Iraq is that he was so irritatingly eloquent in echoing a Republican president’s message" is astonishingly naive at best and blatantly misleading at worst. The objections were that the war was only signed off as legal after his former flat mate and good chum said so, even then, taking two attempts to get to the right answer; that the now infamous dodgy dosier stated Iraq could fire wmds in 45 minutes (I note one of the brainless blair babes recently dismissed this particular lie as "nobody took this seriously") and the fact that there was a shocking, even incompetent lack of planning in the aftermath of the invasion. A terribly poor article straight from the ministry of disinformation.

Kevin Egan, Chelmsford, England

who is this moron?

Neil, Dunbar,

This is neo-Victorian imperialist guff. I am from the North East of England and I can assure you that outside of London there is very little in the way of cultural and/or economic revival. The decimation of the NHS under Blair is a disgrace and profoundly immoral. Bring back Attlee socialism and let's do away with this bourgeois culture of excess and worship of property.

JL, Paris, France

Today is February 19, not April 1 !!

Blair's "legacy", never to be beaten, is that he will go down in history as the worst British Prime Minister to have served in both the 20th and 21st centuries and has "presided", for that is the right word, over a rate of an unprecedented socil decline - as was highlighted in last week's survey of the relative merits of the world's major civilised countries. Never before has a Prime Minister had such a deluded isea of what he has contributd to the country; never again will the British electorate be fooled by spin.

Andrew Ledingham, Edinurgh,

I don't know many people who would share the views expressed in this article. Most people i know are shocked at the speed goodwill towards the US and UK has evaporated over the past few years. In Asia, there is no envy of the culture or way of life practiced in the US or UK, most people view these two countries as fatally diseased with regard to values.

ADScott, Bangkok, Thailand

Blairism has failed and many in his Cabinet are in denial.His toxic legacy will be to hand Brown the prize for coming first in abortions,divorce,teenage pregnancy,binge drinking & welfare dependency. The latter because Brown has destroyed the pensions industry with his 'clunking fist' grabbing £5 billion pounds annually from private & company pension funds.Despite many thousands of pensioners loosing their future retirements, we now have the insulting legacy of having to work till we drop so as to fund inflation proof Civil Servants' & Local Government employee schemes who will retire at 60. What a legacy! It is a complete sham.

B.Garvie, Reading, UK

China has the fourth largest economy in the world. Britain is fifth.
As to surpassing New York as a financial centre, time to stop snorting up that white stuff. Provincial puffery is one thing but let's keep some grip on reality.
The NYSE alone trades equities worth 22-thousand billion (US), the LSE just 3.5. Then there is NASDAQ and a raft of emerging online exchanges.
There may be more of a case in foreign exchange but even so. SOX or no SOX, London isn't going to be a world leader ever again. It is a player. An important player, perhaps the most important European player, but that is it.

Michael Ekin Smyth, London,

Tim Hames:

With respect, you are either well beyond retirement age (which I suspect as you remember Delors as an important figure) or you are a novice from an obscure corner of England.

It's all wishful thinking. It's all last-century nostalgia.

The UK's place in the world is small and diminishing. And we're fifth largest economy, not fourth as you claim. Ahead of France & Italy yes, (hooray!) but way behind China already.

Retire my man!

Long live United Europe!

toughlove, Beijing, China/UK

Just when I thought that Faliraki and Prince Philip were the ultimate in British embarrassment... I'll have a pint of whatever Mr Hames has been drinking!

Kate Emeny, London, UK

I would like whatever Mr Hames smoked before he wrote this article. Give me a break. Aside from the financial clout of the City of London (until the next lot of Labour appartchiks tax it out of the country and we have to go back to the IMF for food money, as one commentator observed) Britain is a failing country whose "place" at the global table was bought on the bodies of our young soldiers and the mendacity of our leadership. Foreign profile on the broken back of a country with a failed education system, a creaking and laughably incompetent poublic sector and a non-existent (apart from financial services) productive economy with a transport infrastructure that is falling apart at the seams has no global leadership outside the realm of PR.

Helene Davidson, London,

What a brilliant analyses after winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with the overwhelming support of your own people! Brittania will rule for a 1000 years at least, or so.

Rolf Herrmann, Rothenburg, Germany

And that's all thanks to our history of using slaves to build the empire. The great London as you see couldn't be that great without the unseen illegal slaves, we treat them like nobodies.
I am ashamed to be English

Viz, B'ham, UK, UK, B'ham

excellent summary,the UK should be proud of itself and its Prime minister

D.Eyre, ottawa, Canada

Fourth largest economy? Sorry, mate: China( $2.1Tr) is fourth after USA ($14Tr) Japan ($3.5Tr) and Germany ($2.8Tr). UK is ($1.8Tr). Note that even Japan, Germany, China and UK combined are barely over half USA.

Nigel Roberts, Warrington, England

Mr. Hames is a brilliant satirist!

John Doucette, Manotick, Ont., Canada

Russia is not Nigeria with nuclear missiles. It is Mexico with nukes and there is a big difference. In terms of per capita GDP adjusted for purchase power parity (ppp) Mexico is 10 times richer than Nigeria and Russia is 11 times richer. Furthermore Russia will probably grow faster than Mexico in coming years.

Doug, Wheeling, USA

You claim that "Britain has become the second most powerful country in the world" and that "Germany and Japan...remain incapable of deploying troops overseas with any confidence".
Astonishing; I get that feelingof deja vu all over again ! It is as though I am reading you in May 1940 (Wehrmacht) or February 1942 (Singapore and the Imperial Japanese Army).
Both of those countries are economically and militarilly powerful, with the strong manufacturing bases which you claim 'had very little furure' in Britain, and both are in the process of changing their post-war settlement Constitutions to allow the deployment of troops overseas; in large part as a rsponse to the desperate urgings of the over-committed and over-stretched British and American governments.
You may think that the Blair legacy is an internationally resurgent Britain. I cannot think that even Blair himself (and certainly not his Chancellor of the Exchequer) would agree wholeheartedly and unequivocably.
Seventy years later, and you sound like the Voice of Empire, and just as deluded.

Tom Benford, Kyoto, Japan

Ah, an apologist at work who can afford to be magnanimous at the retreating figure of a spent PM. I suggest you use the benchmark of domestic social cohesion in looking at Blair's foreign "success". It ain't so.

Mike Armstrong, Macau, China

Mr Haines

Brilliant.

Seize the moment and heartfelt congratulations Britannia.

Eric Laimins, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Wrong again Hames.

Iraq will be the legacy of this man directly linked to his failure in foreign policy .

Those such as yourself will continue to try to deflect the real issue of that failure in foreign policy and the responsibility that comes with it.

We have seen and heard it all before from you and your kind who refuse to admit to the reality of what this has cost the British people. From those who have paid the ultimate price in the sands of Iraq, to how the world views us at present, we are certainly not "great" at all...

F.S.SUMMERS, LONDON,