How Britain Came to this Sorry Pass

By Scott Horton

I still remember a breakfast meeting with a solicitor friend in a Grosvenor Square hotel many years ago. How do you distinguish the London quality dailies, I asked? “That's simple,” he said, “the Guardian is the paper of the lefty academic types who become apoplectic at the mention of the name ‘Maggie Thatcher' and would be most prone to order some macrobiotic abomination at a restaurant. The Times is the indispensable paper of the courtier who wants to know the court calendar, is most likely to attend the charity event presided over by HRH Princess Michael of Kent for the benefit of St. Elfrieda's Hospital, and who probably spends more time bickering with his wine merchant than reading the foreign news. And the Daily Telegraph is the paper of the retired Army major and the country curate who have never in their life thought of voting for any one who wasn't a bona fide Conservative.” That differentiation was as good as any I ever heard. So reading the Daily Telegraph of late has been a lesson in understanding the massive divide that has arisen today between Bush-Cheney Republicanism and the Tory Thatcherite tradition in Britain. It has progressed from puzzlement, to irritation, to seething contempt. Today's lead editorial is a must-read, especially this:

Close association with America over Iraq has severely dented Britain's prestige in the world, and the Blair Government's popularity at home. Over the past few weeks, both have sunk to new depths thanks to incompetent patrolling by the Royal Navy in the Gulf, the readiness of the arrested sailors and Marines to do what the Iranians wanted, and the shocking decision, soon rescinded, to allow them to sell their stories. If you want to know why this country has become a laughing-stock, look no further than the reaction of the Government to this disgraceful episode.

This summer it seems very likely that Tony Blair will pass the baton to Gordon Brown, his chancellor of the exchequer, who will seriously overhaul Labour Party policies on the “special relationship” with the United States. What will come after that is anybody's guess. But British Conservatives, once the mainstay of support for the “special relationship,” have become profound skeptics. The blame for this falls squarely on George Bush and Dick Cheney and their tendency to subject even our most faithful ally—no, especially our most faithful allyy—to wanton contempt and abuse.