Do we really need to pretend that Victoria is still on the throne and that we "own" half of the known world?
Are we still as rich as when we were a really competitive industrial nation and used the mineral wealth etc that came from our colonies and dependencies to ensure we stayed at the top of our power and influence?
Can we still afford to be one of the "world's policemen"?
Would it not be better to approach our situation realistically and accept that the past is the past?
So what if retrenching a bit (or a lot) may mean that we end up not keeping our permanent seat on the UN Security Council? It doesn't seem to have done countries like Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Holland, Japan, and Sweden etc a lot of harm.
In fact, maybe by not being a permanent member, there would be less expectation of what we could or should do around the world from other countries.
If we were not playing at "world's policeman", we would need far fewer armed forces which could then be focussed and specialised so they could become even better at their jobs than they are now.
If from the above, you have deduced that I think we should become more insular and more selfish about how we spend our national resources and wealth, then you would be right.
I expect a major haranguing for this post, but I believe that a realistic appraisal of our place in the world is long overdue.
I believe that we have some of the best armed forces in the world and I also believe that we are not doing any of them justice by trying to extend ourselves beyond reason or capability.