Britain is not the country it used to be. It's once grand empire has shrivelled to a few sparsely populated islands here and there. It is no longer at the forefront of global commerce and its influence in international relations diminished as it played second fiddle to George W Bush's foreign policy for almost a decade. Ideals of Britain being powerful, home to the best race in the world, and the last bastion of civilisation no longer hold sway.