To be pleased that the UK is no longer world leading

[pontypridd]

John Major said it today. I think he’s right.

Why does it matter though? Why can’t the UK just be bog standard/ normal?

Spoken like a true supporter of mediocrity. With a population with this attitude, is it any surprise that UK is not world leading.

Leading it where exactly ? 🤣

Why would this be any good news? I am not Brittish but I live in UK. I do want the pioneer leading UK, there on top of the wave, innovating.

We are still world leading in some areas, like theatre and the arts. Which are the areas the government seem most keen not to support...

I think we do punch about our weight in some areas.clinical research with regards to Covid springs to mind plus we have amazing musicians and actors and writers and sports people too. Culturally we are still influential. Other areas not so much, we are average middle of the pack and maybe that is a good thing so we do not get involved in every dispute in the world and meddle in countries where we shouldn’t but it is a role that someone needs to do. Hopefully the US will step up again with Biden or there will be a power vacuum that China will step into.

I can't stand all the Conservative rhetoric about being 'world leading', but that's because it's completely disingenuous, as the people saying these things are so incompetent and awful it's embarrassing.

That said, I wouldn't want to aim for mediocrity, because, well, why would you? People want something to be proud of, it's just unfortunate that the people currently in charge want to burn everything to the ground.

City of London and financial innovation is still world leading plus our justice system is used by the rest of the world with rich people wanting to use our courts. We are still a very stable country with good rule of law too. Plus education, seems to me half the world want to educate their kids in our public schools so all is not lost yet!

“World leading” is imperialist nonsense.

Ok I’m not pleased. I worded that wrongly.

But I’m also not sure why it’s a bad thing. Only because there are so many other lovely countries that are not world leading.

And I wonder whether it will actually make us pull our socks up and try a bit harder to be a good country for everyone. Just be less complacent and pompous.

Name one country that is good for everyone

When I was a child my mum said that that Britain strutted around on the world stage like it still ruled half the world and it needed to get over its delusions of empire as it was a good deal less important than it thought. She was right. And we still do, so YANBU. Only it's even more true now.

@sashagabadon

City of London and financial innovation is still world leading plus our justice system is used by the rest of the world with rich people wanting to use our courts. We are still a very stable country with good rule of law too. Plus education, seems to me half the world want to educate their kids in our public schools so all is not lost yet!

Aren't a third of City jobs going to be lost to elsewhere after Brexit? I'd like to agree with you, but... Brexit, urgh...

What does world leading mean?

Some things we do well.
Some things we are ok at
Some countries do things / structure their society / have better outcomes in areas better than we do.

Of course we still have the best army / police / democracy / (insert / delete ) in the world.

According to some.

Sweden does a pretty good job. Better than us I’m sure.

All countries want to be world leading surely? Just like individuals who want to be at the top of their field. Everyone wants to be the best.

Can I ask why you're pleased at the thought of the UK not being world leading?

Because I think the UK is governed by pompous twats who need taking down a peg.

@pontypridd

Because I think the UK is governed by pompous twats who need taking down a peg.

Governed by some of the best pompous twats in the world.

Have you lived in Sweden?

I read a lot of international press and gotta say all countries big themselves up, world leading this and that. It is really not unique to the U.K.
it is quite a subjective term anyway as who could really prove it one way or the other. What does it really mean? How could you compare countries anyway?
I like that the U.K. gov aims to be world leading, sometimes they are, sometimes they are not

@pontypridd

Because I think the UK is governed by pompous twats who need taking down a peg.

To the detriment of the normal, every day people that live and work in that same UK? Yeah brilliant think to be glad about, hopeful for and celebrate

Thing not think

But being world leading isn't about pride or taking the government down a peg or two.

Being world leading attracts talent and investment and companies to the UK. You get hubs of excellence and well paid work in places like Cambridge for tech, Derby and Bristol for aerospace, Aberdeen for oil, Sheffield for metallurgy, London for finance and so on.

So local jobs are available which pay well. It also increases the educational opportunities for young people in the area and local universities are often supported by international businesses.

So yeah, being good at stuff is quite important. Although an increasing amount of the UK's population doesn't seem like it can be bothered to work hard at anything these days.

I have close family who live in Sweden. It feels like a more grounded and humble country. The people have far more trust in their government than we do here.

@pontypridd

Because I think the UK is governed by pompous twats who need taking down a peg.

I don't think they'll ever be 'taken down a peg' because the people in charge are rich and privileged and I don't believe they care about the UK anyway. They can just leave and go and lecture at some American universities when they are no longer in politics.

I see what you mean now though. The USA is a 'world leader' in a lot of areas, but I wouldn't want to live there or have to eat their chlorinated chicken.

Oh and Sweden has its own problems, it's certainly not the left wing Eden people in the UK spout. I love the country, and have lived there, but the idea of it being particularly world leading is daft. Other than IKEA, can you name one Swedish company?

(I can name a number of multinational ones, some of which are world leading in their fields, but they aren't generally in the public consciousness)