they are at the cutting edge of aeronautical innovation
They haven't been at the cutting edge of aviation since Concorde and the TSR2. There is no longer enough expertise left to build a complete aircraft in the UK, even if somebody came up with a viable design. Having been a six-monthly visitor to the sim centre at Woodford for quite a few years, it has gone from slightly busy (when the RJX was being built and the Nimrod program was in full swing), to an absolute ghost town.
The 146/RJ/RJX were/are great aircraft for their intended purpose, don't get me wrong. But even when the RJX was flying, it was just an RJ with new engines... still the same basic EFIS, several orders of magnitude less capable than most turbopops of the era.
Personally, I think the UK government should be held accountable for throwing away what was a strong and innovative industry. How the empire has fallen!
But I think we can all agree that this seasexsun clown is a complete dick!