Just what has Britain got to be proud of ?

In seriousness

Free Museums
NHS
Free Preschool education

Great literature, great entertainers, great history, great universities, great people, great country

But I much prefer
Only Fools and Horses

Yes, Caroline Aherne is quite good

The Royal Family

The Daily Mail

carmin - I never asked you to buy into anything. I am not talking about rioters here.

I'm sorry, but I will never buy into the - 'I'm poor so I have an excuse to riot and cause mayhem' - I'm currently on a thread where I'm awaiting a PM entitled 'how to feed your family for £30 pw' - ( 100's of other M'netters have already requested it) - there's dignified poor, and there's mindless criminals - do not confuse the two.

Eton and tradition like the Bullingdon Club

The widening gap of relative poverty between people - the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. The argument that 'we can't afford stuff' is pretty thin when you realise we are one of the richest countries on the planet (is it 6th, 7th, 8th?).

Red Dwarf you fool !

the NHS
the fact that we do not have the death penalty

very little atm

We do sometimes have a very ruthless attitude to 'the poor'. Consigning people to large swathes of estates with little infrastructure, few shops ( and those that are there are massivley expensive compared to 'drive-to' supermarkets), limited job opportunities within striking distance.

The rate of teenage pregnancies, alcohol consumption amongst even the very young, are other things to be pretty ashamed of. It's a balance n'est-ce pas?

btw - the beloved NHS won't be so if Camrun has his way in tarting it out to U.S "providers".

And the Welfare State/NHS

'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue' - Humphrey Littleton (sadly missed)

Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Agatha Christie, and the Beatles (off the top of my head and being completely superficial )

But I do get where you're coming from, the recent riots have left most of us bewildered, shocked, and reeling in shame & disbelief. I would lay the blame on EU regulations giving the criminal more rights than the victim, extreme liberalism and the breakdown of the traditional family - but other liberal countries handle these issues without going completely mad. It appears we have unique problems - so unique no one has a bleeding clue what they are.

There are times when I regret what this country 'does' to it's self and the really uncivilised attitudes we have as country, sometimes ot the point of being 'ashamed' of it. Despite invites from ironman and 2shoes I ahve no intent on emigrating - this is where 'home' is and the people I love.

Good things? nhs, an improving police service, use of irony, cricket team, the temperate climate, Scottish landscape, Manchester United, curious sayings like 'she's no better than she should be'.

Anyone who is ashamed of this country should emigrate. The rioters probably rioted as they felt like the OP, no affiliation to this great country. We have plenty to be proud of and they are too numerous to mention.

I wish people would stop slagging of this country! OP have you taken all the benefits this country has to offer? Yes! If you don't like this country emigrate, I no doubt the you don't have the skills to offer another country!
Perhaps you should enlighten yourself refrerence slavery, 2 million europeans were also taken in the past as slaves, slavery does not just include black people.
Read 'White Gold' and educate yourself .

Some really stunning coastline, beautiful architecture, houses that were built in the 14th century which are stunning today. A tradition of preserving rather than demolishing, a national love of dogs. The army, navy and air force are the best in the world.

Agree with whoever said Land Rovers.

The "riot wombles" were pretty proud-making :)

Ivanhoe, have you actually lived anywhere else (lived, not visited on holiday)

I've lived a few other places, and the UK may have some problems, but every country does and I have to agree with some of the other people here by saying that we have a lot to be proud of.

Anyone can have healthcare, education, there is support to feed and house, we have good roads, despite complaints our infrastructure is amazing compared to many countries, we give a lot of money and support to developing countries, are very open with our immigration policies and our people are very tolerant, friendly, and willing to try and accept new things.

There really aren't many places in the world that can say that.

Repetition does not equal proof

You asked a question and have been answered. I gave you three examples of the things that make me proud of my nation. There are things that make me thoroughly ashamed - like the slave trade - and things which need to be improved - like disability awareness - and then there are the things we've done spectacularly well at - like the steam engine and cotton weaving.

It's my opinion. It's not wrong, it's just not yours.

We've lots of things that could be much better, and there's things we did in the past that we wouldn't do now, but there's lots to be proud of too.