Old World Order - UK

Population: 63 million
Area: 243,000km2
GDP: $2.4 trillion
GDP (per capita): $36,000
United Nations Security Council Veto: Yes

The Pax Britannica is long dead and buried, but Britain is still a major power broker on the world stage. Britain had veto power on the UN Security Council and has the fourth largest military expenditure in the world. It is also a member of globally important organisations such as the EU, NATO and the Commonwealth. 

The primary problem for Britain is the economy, ours is currently stagnating and many countries' economies are expected to overtake it. It's difficult to find long term predictions of where economies will be due to the volatile nature of markets and the current global uncertainty. One way is to look at countries that are larger than the UK (in terms of population) but that are currently much poorer. The UK is currently the 22nd largest in the world and expected to still be the 22nd largest in 2050 (France and Thailand are expected to drop below whilst Uganda and Sudan are expected to overtake it). To stop it from declining Britain must have a strong economy or it will risk losing its status as a great power for the first time since the term's inception at the Congress of Vienna in 1819. 

One way the UK can help its economy is by reducing its dependency on oil in favour of renewable resources. As more countries develop, the demand for oil will increase whilst the supply will dry up as current oil fields are emptied. This will cause a price spike and severe damage to any economy too dependent on oil. The UK is brilliantly placed for harvesting wind energy offshore, often cited as one of the best in the world and the best in Europe. Of the 25 largest offshore wind farms in the world, 14 are British, in 2013 Britain produced the 6th most wind energy with 5% of the National Grid being supplied by wind power. 14 more wind farms are planned to open in the next several years. Currently the UK produces 8,445 MW of wind energy, by 2020 that is expected to rise to 28,000 MW!

One of the reasons I fear the rise of glop is the fact that they wish to loosen our ties with the rest of the world. I often hear Nigel Farage and other UKIP supporters accuse the pro-EU side of living in the past. This is a ridiculous accusation, we recognise that we need to improve our ties abroad if we are to continue to succeed. They seem to be living in the past, well I've got news for them, it's not the 1800s, the Empire is gone and we are not the world's largest economy, we cannot afford splendid isolation. Britain is uniquely well placed in terms of forming alliances. We are America's closest ally, a country that will remain a superpower for a long time. We are a European nation, the most powerful collection of countries. We are also a member of the Commonwealth, other members include rising stars with as India and South Africa. 

At the moment, Britain's future is uncertain.  Unfortunately Britain faces a future in which its power is reduced to nil, by not existing! The independence movement in Scotland recently got a boost when it was announced that the Scottish old be given the option to go alone in 2014. Currently polls show this unlikely to happen, but it is still possible. If Scotland were to achieve independence in 2014 then it would likely set off the nationalists on Northern Ireland, leading to a united Ireland.  Wales and England would then be left together, and although Welsh nationalism is significantly weaker than Scottish or Irish nationalism, the disappearance of half the countries in the UK would lead to an independent Wales. 

To sum up, the UK is threatened by three problems; the economy, isolationism (primarily euro-scepticism) and nationalism. The seeds of the United Kingdom's destruction have been sowed, but it does not beam they cannot be uprooted. If the UK can return its economy to success, nationalism will lose its zeal and isolationism will look less attractive.