No, as far as foreign countries Americans think of the UK first. We just don't make a big deal of this 'special relationship' idea because its so obvious, we are acutely aware of our close ties to the UK.
The only other country we Americans know exist is the UK. But the UK has nothing to offer that a good partner would have. You have no military apart from nukes. London aside you have to GDP of Mississippi. Unfortunately the UK is irrelevant and only gets to speak on the world stage cause you have a cool flag and had a good navy 200 years ago.
@@GnosticwareAs an older American l thought awareness of the "special relationship" was a Republican/Democrat thing rather than old vs young. It will be interesting to see whether the bill requiring ByteDance to divest or cease US operations will be enforced.
Perhaps it isn't so much that America HAS interests, but that America is, increasingly, owned and controlled BY intetests - some of which aren't even American. At our Founding, we stood for certain ideas and values. Not that we were pure, but those ideas and values had a lot to do with how we defined our interests. We have come to stand, mainly, for corporate interests - which are, necessarily, transient, materialistic, and neither humane nor even patriotic.
To quote Rammstein: "We're all living in Amerika, Amerika, it's wunderbar We're all living in Amerika, Coca-Cola, Wonder Bra We're all living in Amerika, Amerika, it's wunderbar We're all living in Amerika, Coca-Cola, sometimes war This is not a love song I don't speak my mothers tongue"
I can't believe we still reference this special relationship - it's like a child seeking continual approval from their mother. We really need to grow-up and realise that the world is a much more ambiguous place than it was 70+ years ago.
How so? Is the UK going to align with ... what, China? Russia - ok not those two. How about India, which practices 'diplomacy of convenience'. There's the EU, well enough said about that. So who out there should the UK more closely align with in this 'ambiguous' world?
@@Gnosticware You've mis-understood my post. I'm not for one moment suggesting we don't align with the US. My point is that the special relationship doesn't really exist and we should not allow ourselves to be so readily seduced by its notion. We align with countries who have similar values and objectives to us and where there is a synergy and respect to the alliance i.e. I've got your back/you've got my back.
I had thought it just meant “We’re good friends”, I’m appalled if this is what my politicians get up to just lil broing themselves. I’m glad we’re not like Australia though where the regular people are talking about how great allies they are to massa US “We’ve been in every war together!!” Lol
As an Englishman who emigrated to the USA and now holds dual citizenship, it doesn't matter a shrivelled fig to the US. Brexit has so damaged the UK economically and politically, that it is just a nation looking to its past for importance. If the UK was still in the EU it would be a much stronger partner for the US to help steer the EU towards US goals and values. The major EU nations are far more important to the USA as political and economic partners.
@@stleonards1066 What are you getting from the US now since Brexshit lol? Your American masters "forgot" to inform you that they were withdrawing from Kabul, so your "army" had to run away head over heels, chased out by a bunch of armed shepherds.
It's curious how UK media outlets like the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 dedicate far more coverage to US political affairs than to European politics-or even British politics, at times. This trend has persisted for the past 20 years since I moved here. While the UK's relationship with the US is undoubtedly important, I would argue it's no more critical than our ties with other major global players like India, China, Japan, or even Argentina and Chile. Why is it that people here are more likely to know about a scandal in the New York mayor's office than what's happening in the European Parliament? Despite the UK's former position within the EU, our media have consistently failed to provide substantive coverage of European governance or politics. It’s as though our proximity and political ties to Europe have been sidelined in favor of an Anglo-American narrative. As an American myself, I see that the US interest in the UK often boils down to language, the monarchy, and its place within Europe. Yes, there are longstanding military and intelligence ties, but every nation forges strategic relationships. These bonds are not as unique as they're often portrayed. The media's focus on the US at the expense of covering equally significant relationships seems misplaced, especially considering the UK's strategic importance globally. And let's be honest-regardless of who holds the US presidency, there’s always a public show of getting along with the UK. That’s not unique to the US; virtually every country puts on the same diplomatic front, portraying harmony for the cameras. The real question is why this predictable spectacle dominates our news cycles while more pressing geopolitical relationships receive little attention.
Well in America, we have a problem with our media not really telling us what’s going on in other parts of the world. We just get bits and pieces and the same old back and forth political b.s. I don’t watch it anymore. We have to do our own research. Unfortunately, not everyone has time for that.
I'm an American. Can someone explain why people think we have a special (growing?) affinity for Ireland? I think we view Ireland in a positive light, but similarly to how we view the rest of the anglosphere. Also, while I get it's natural to feel jaded about a relationship that's one-sided, I think another comment said it best in that our media doesn't typically cover our economic relationships and partnerships. Those sort of fluctuations seem big to you all, but the average American really isn't noticing or thinking about it. I really think the way Americans view our allies hasn't changed at all, just less interest.
I am British but have lived in the US for a few years and I completely agree with you. Britain has a historical self obsession with itself and how it is viewed by others, especially the US, which is somewhat understandable given it was until the early 20th century the proeminent superpower in the world.
As a Brit I think UK politicians suck up to the US government a little too much and focus on the special relationship too much as well. Brits and Americans know we are close allies and have been since WWII and there is absolutely no need to keep bringing it up every time our leaders meet. Our British leaders always seem to seek validation from American leaders every time they come together and that only makes us look desperate. At the same time it flatters the American ego. The hard truth is, we value the relationship more than America does because we need America more than America needs us. That's the way of things in the current climate so why make a big deal about it? Does the average American even care? why should we? We are politically obliged to support each other in time of need and that should be enough. We are culturally close, we are friends and allies in all ways essential and regardless of who's in power, I doubt it will change in any meaningful way. We don't have to be America's favourite pals to get what we both want out of the relationship.
Does America really care about the ‘special relationship’? No, never has, never will. It just shows how feeble UK politics is. The only UK Prime Minister who got it right was Hugh Grant in Love Actually.
The luke warm support for the UK during the Falklands war. And the invasion of Grenada in 1983, a British territory, without informing the British government, is all you need to know about the special relationship.
Did you listen at all? Over half of American's still consider the UK to be it's most important ally. Not to mention over half of 70+ yr olds (so your 'never has' line is also bollocks). Yes the UK is shit, but this metric is not a good one to use to declare this fact.
Like most of have said here, it only matters when America wants/needs it to I.e military ops, defence etc. Otherwise they couldn’t give one solitary shit about it.
@@bicker31agreed the City of London and Wall Street are intertwined in many ways. If Wall Street slumps so does the City of London. We live in a world now where every country and society in the free world is linked in multiple ways with every other and they are all more and more linked to China which is the biggest economic danger to all as of China fails it will drag down the rest of us and atm China is trying to fix issues such as corruption and borrowing that make many Chinese companies v dodgy.
@@warlockCommitteeMeetingexactly how I feel about it. As an American myself, I greatly appreciate the British people, I would say it goes both ways. Our countries are very deeply intertwined more than any other country for both sides. We are culturally alike. We ride and die with one another and if one were to attack either they attack both.
"I think it means a lot more to Brits than it does to Americans" You are conflating what our political class think with what the general public think. Most Brits don't give a crap about this one sided political relationship, they know its a scam and have a much greater desire to be close to Europe.
A fair point. They were talking about the generational divide in the US where older Americans see the UK as the closest partner while younger Americans don't, so I'd also be curious to see a similar survey done here in the UK. I would imagine there might be a similar divide here, with the older generation looking to the US as our closest ally while the younger look to the EU.
Why wouldn't it be seen as a special relationship by Britons? After all, America is the current global superpower, and its institutions are more or less a product of the British/Anglo-Saxon civilisation. Many won't like to admit it, but there must be a sense of pride in the average British person in terms of how relatively successful British settler colonies have turned out: US, Aus, NZ and Canada. To say that there was never the basis for a special relationship between the UK and the US is proposterous.
As a Texan that spent 2 years of my childhood in GB as a military brat- yes, we see you as a friend, an ally, & a member of the immediate family! I still communicate with British friends of 1965!
As a Texan myself I agree 100%.. the UK-US relationship will always be important for both parties, Wall Street and London are twin brothers. How many Americans own Football Clubs in the EPL? I’ve grown to notice that the military of both countries respect one another more than the average citizen bc you see first hand that relationship. Whereas it’s kinda unknown for the average person.
As Britain becomes poorer and less relevant in the world, the relationship remains only in the academic ties of language and history. As far as the USA is concerned, it's like an old uncle, past his prime, remembering his glory days, while dozing in the corner at family gatherings. (AND yes, before anybody comments, I WAS born and bred in the UK)
Not true - the UK has been the top military partner in Europe. The problem is that the Pentagon has been warning them that their military is rapidly becoming second tier with funding and recruitment issues. But yes, if the UK lets its military wither, and continues outside the EU than that can't be helped.
Suggestion for a topic: Given the current situation in the US, why is it that in the UK there is never a threat of the government "shutting down", whereas in the US it seems to happen fairly often?
It’s a bit of a late answer but the reason why the US has this process’s of shutting down is because of its debt ceiling that it has implemented. Now this debt ceiling is entirely arbitrary and every time the debt has come close to the celling it has been raised, not raising it would cause a total government collapse since no more money can be borrowed and spend. The reason why it exists is to always blame the ruling party when the debt ceiling gets close even though both parties are to blame. What usually happens is that the ruling party fires a lot of government employees since if the debt ceiling is reached they can not afford to pay them and blames the opposition party from stopping the ceiling from being raised, thereby causing unemployment. So it becomes a political game on which party caves first the Republicans or the Democrats there is usually some kind of deal the only thing that is certain that one party always caves and that the debt ceiling is raised.
Post WWII the US is unique and in a unique position obviously, it's natural that it has a 'special relationship' with all the countries mentioned. Yes the UK because the two are probably the most culturally aligned and due to the US colonies, France of course also due to the Revolution, Lady Liberty etc, Canada is our bestie neighbor, Japan and Germany are two countries who we pulled out of autocracy and enabled them to become global great powers again and are now close friends. All the NATO countries fall under that umbrella. Each relationship is different, and special in its own way. As an American I have warm feelings about all of those countries, for their respective reasons. China is nothing but a a bad great power demanding undeserved respect.
@@battybibliophile-Clare As China would like everybody to believe. Fact is that China is only an economic super power, their military has never been tested, and they are weak everywhere else except Space. Russia is no longer a Superpower. Otherwise the US was never a Hegemony - you are parroting more China/Russia (mostly China) narrative, but it's funny how China keeps saying that, while it's _exactly_ what China aspires to, at least in its region. Same as Russia.
@@battybibliophile-Clare Well, you aren't saying that on the Chinese youtube that's on the Chinese internet. The problem with China is the CCP and Xi in particular. He has turned China into a different direction than the West and they aren't well equipped to go it alone.
I understand that the special relationship transcends the PM/President personal relations. It is operational in three key areas. The nuclear deterrent, special forces, and intelligence
This is the real answer. Economically they can turn on a dime and only look out for their interests (as most nations do), but when it comes to military intelligence & technology, the two nations are deeply interconnected in a way that can't be unwound easily or quickly e.g. US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, Five Eyes, AUKUS etc. The USD is their power, and that is backed up by the US military. So to be involved at the highest levels of intel in the military is a special relationship regardless of what public perception is.
@@jamesbt1012 Exactly. Well said. The perception of what the special relationship is by the public is off. The fleeting vaguity of whether PM X and Pres Y get on is largely irrelevant for the day to day operations. At least in my opinion
@deadandburied7626 Our nuclear submarines keep a letter from the current Prime Minister in a safe, containing orders for what to do in the event that contact with the government is lost (i.e. in the event of a nuclear attack) - one of the first things a new Prime Minister does is write these orders. So not only can our nuclear weapons be launched without US permission, they can technically be fired when the entire UK government has been destroyed. Because they'd be pointless otherwise.
This special relationship Infuriates me. It is total bollocks. UK does as told as and nothing more. We want to be free from Europe but lie down and let US tickle our tummy for a photo opp' at the White House.
The UK is doing all the work of screwing itself - Brexit has been a disaster, but the UK is still very important to the US as its key military partner in Europe. If Britain wants to screw itself some more it should turn its back on the US, and unfortunately you folks are letting that military wither away.
Why do you think Churchill should be a model for peacetime? He served our interests in ridding Europe of Hitler, he wasn't much to write home about apart from that.....
I’m sick how this country sucks up to America , we have always inspired to be like America and this is why we are in a mess today. money before morals.
Perhaps younger people see the relationship with Britain as a part of a broader institutional decay; the US is ignoring the very laws it helped create and Britain voted Brexit; it must be hard for a younger generation to see value.
Why did the government decide to cut all winter fuel money at a certain point, instead of reduce the amount over an earnings bracket? A simple example here, but if you get £100 winter fuel at £12000 pension, £50 at £12050 etc. would that not be a better way of doing things, while avoiding stories of people missing out by £1?
Because by giving the WFP to those who already receive other credits, they can administer it using already established systems. Means-testing it in the way you suggest would require developing an additional system, which would wipe out any savings made by cutting the payment in the first place.
Helmet Schmidt (former German kansler) said about “the special relationship between UK and US) that it is so special that only one of the parties knows about it😂
Britain has been a US vassal since 1945, maybe a bit earlier. The way Brits make this demeaning and humiliating relationship palatable to themselves is by using the euphemism of the "special relationship." It's a very one-sided affair: the US tells what Britain to do, when to trot behind it, when to bark and Britain complies, while getting nothing in return. Tom Stevenson's recent book, "Someone Else's Empire", is well worth reading.
Canadians also like to toss around the term Special Relationship when it comes to the US. I think we've all had the experience growing up of having that 'friend' who was fun to hang around with but was a bit of an abusive psychopath.
You're no different the US. Your tar sands are destroying the planet and you obey the Pentagon's commands 90% of the time because you're a good little lap dog. You just don't get the heat because you're 10% as relevant as the US globally.
@@heydonhiggins3765 For being so geographically close and speaking the same language - Canada and the US are sooooo very different and Americans and Canadians have very different sensibilities I’ve found - not making any value judgments of course
As a young american- of course China should be seen as the most important. They make all of the world's goods and are the 2nd leg of the global economy. I think a lot of us recognize that China is gonna be China and the US doesn't necessarily need to stop them. We each have our own sovereignties and should just work to make those work. Iraq and Afghanistan was our generation's coming of age. It made it obvious that we can't make the world in our image and that we shouldn't be attempting to. All people deserve to prosper and if China can do it their way, let them. We just need to focus on making sure we do better > focus on investments at home and with our closest friends (CAN, MX, UK).
Authoritarian leaders don't care about their country's reputation, and neither do their nationalist supporters. A US Administration that cares about Europe and NATO will value its relationship with the UK.
Alternatively, an authoritarian leader values the internal perception of the country and ignores the external perception of the country A high internal reputation allows an authoritarian leader to sacrifice individual freedoms for benefit of the nation state.
Exactly what value is the US getting out of Europe and NATO again? Apparently we're paying to keep Russia from driving their tanks into central Paris and the thanks we get is nose bleeding tariffs slapped on all our exports, and a sanctimonious delusion of superiority.
@@adtastic1533 NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in its history after 9/11. If the US no longer wants the allied forces of 32 countries to have its back, just say the word.
The US and the UK remain very close politically, diplomatically and culturally. Even if Americans do not think as much as Brits do about the “Special Relationship” specifically, they get up on Saturday mornings to watch the Premier League, they watch Downton Abbey and Slow Horses, they read British literature in school and spend more time than Brits obsessing about the Royals. The two nations are very close.
@@kateofthings I'm in Oregon, lived here 14 years after 4 decades as a Londoner. Yes, quite different culturally I think. I'll have to look up Slow Horses, I've never heard of it before.
As an American I always find it interesting to observe how others see us (ouch), and also to have glimpses of what England and the rest of Europe are up to. The US news is so focused on what we're all about (which right now is ONLY the election) that one soon becomes almost brain dead about the rest of the world. So glad I discovered your podcast and the hugely intelligent and insightful Rory Cameron. P.S. Am so on board with his idea of giving money directly to needy people.
Definitely not! Just spent two hours in a queue to get into this country at O'Hare from Heathrow. I'm Irish and if flying from Dublin, can be 'processed' there in a quick and easy manner, then just walk through on the US side. Why won't they do that for everyone in the British Isles? They could care less about the British people whatever about the government!
Some might get nostalgic and feel some warm fuzzy feelings, but when there is any kind of pressure, America will not waver in acting in it's own interests. and just like all other countries, Britain has to fall in line to make sure that it's interests align with what America wants if it wants to benefit from American decisions instead of suffering from them.
@@InnuendoXP America learned from the best at it, The British. It's only obvious that countries maintain their own priorities first, don't get a chip on your shoulder over it, but realize that the British Empire is gone, so you can drop the inflated ego. I think in an existential threat to the UK would be different, but other countries are not going to help you rebuild your standing in the world, just to go back to sitting between weighing the interests of Europe and America. UK put up with US out of necessity not preference.
I do. I also care profoundly about NATO. But I was raised by the “Greatest Generation.” I’m also a female military veteran and historian. Sadly, I find my fellow citizens increasingly detached from the importance of allies. And I fear most have no idea the effect our Presidential elections have on the rest of the world.
The value of the UK to the US in the past was explained in the Firing Line episode hosted by William F. Buckley Jr. called “Is England Still Influencing America?” Buckley was joined in the discussion by Christopher Hitchens and John O'Sullivan. To summarize O’Sullivan’s view, the UK had value to the US as a connection between the US and Western Europe involving the encouragement of free trade. - With Brexit, and its protectionist slant, does that role for the UK still exist? It seems to be greatly weakened and so the value of the UK for the US has become much weaker and the US would probably much rather deal with the EU directly.
As a Brit I see it this way. Our countries are more like relatives than friends. We British shouldn't have to persistently seek validation of that relationship. No one goes up to a father, mother, brother or sister constantly asking for reassurance that the relationship is OK and that it's above all other relationships. That is just nothing but insecurity speaking. We Brits know who the senior partner is in all this and it doesn't really matter.
@@MadLFCI generally agree I see Britain and the USA as like many families I’ve known. If one member of a family has a go at another family member that’s fine it doesn’t break the family. But if an outsider attacks a family member or the family itself then all the family members will join together to defend the family member or the family from attack.
This American cares about it. The UK is our closest ally after Canada. Whether culturally, militarily, historically, and in terms of international relationship, we have always been connected with the mother country. In many ways the current US soft empire is the continuation of the British Empire, and I genuinely believe if we stopped trying to distance ourselves from that legacy, it would be helpful for the United States to learn from the British. The Anglosphere countries have much in common with their fellow members since we descend from the same cultures, historical institutions, and have at various times emulated one another. Americans who forget this do themselves a disservice. It is because of the Magna Carta that we have our basis in Common Law. It is because of the War of Three Kingdoms and Glorious Revolution we have representative government. It is because of the Norman Conquest we speak this form of English. We erred by not supporting our wartime ally during the Cold War, as the British have ever supported most American foreign policy decisions with the exception of Vietnam, but even then, Australia was involved. Greater cultural and economic ties between the US and the Commonwealth would be beneficial, but whether it be “anti-colonial” sentiment or isolationism, my fellow Americans seem to be hesitant to engage more with our Special Relationship. It makes sense Clinton, a Rhodes Scholar, would though, as I believe that was one of the purposes of the scholarship to begin with.
Eh in terms of empire, influence, and lessons to be learned, the British could stand to learn from themselves & their own history. Unfortunately as is commonly the case, conservatives have stoked blind nationalism and myth-making of a Britain that never was to shore up their own voter-base which prevents Britain from being a great country in the future as it believes in fairytales about its own past. Britain in the past was under no illusions about its smallness and vulnerability, which is why it built such a powerful navy, and ruthlessly leveraged every advantage it possessed of technology, influence, trade, statecraft & ultimately, violence. Because a large single power on mainland Europe could threaten Britain with invasion by being far more populaced & better resourced, Britain played an antagonistic role by cynically doing everything it could at preventing unity & power consolidation while seeking it's own resources from even more vulnerable territories overseas. But many modern day British nationalists have drank the kool-aid Imperial propaganda that there was an inherent superiority & intangible specialness to Britain & that its success was practically a gift granted by God. & Old Britain would have believed this at their peril. So in that respect, George Bush's concept of "we fight them over there or else we'll have to fight them over here" applies just as much to Britain fighting France & Spain in the Americas as it does to America fighting it's wars elsewhere. Except unlike Britain, the USA isn't vulnerable, it's a vast continent-spanning immensely well-resourced fortress of a country.
The winter fuel allowance furore is more about the optics of it being announced around the time of agreeing a pay increase for train drivers of 15% over 3 years, without any changes to working practices, when UK train drivers are already paid significantly more than in Europe (about 50% more than in France, for example).
A toothless collective security freerider on the far periphery of the continent is far from America's primary strategic interest in Europe. It isn't even top 10. Does it host vital bases like Germany or Turkey or scads of others? Is it an indispensable player in a vital high-tech sector like the Netherlands? Does it have a serious military capable of protecting force like France? Geographic lynchpin like the Scandinavian countries? Major arms customer like Poland? It may well not be top 20.
Regarding Rory talking about 'friendships' ending, I find it hard to imagine that it would come as a surprise if someone you knew went and supported Johnson. Even if they'd not articulated it previously you'd just.... Know. And you'd have a pretty good idea as to why they would support him. And so you'd be in a position to judge whether you really liked the person. None of this takes genius levels of insight.
Alistair and Rory, you didn’t answer the question about the custodial prison sentences for people making statements on Facebook and criminals being released early to create space in the prison system. I would like to go further and ask how can Julia Sweeny be given a 15 month prison sentence for a disgusting post she made on Facebook about attacking a mosque. But Huw Edwards who had dozens of indecent images of children as young as 7 not see the inside of a prison cell?
American here, I think it's pretty clear that in my lifetime the US/UK relationship has been a fairly strong one in the fact that most of the wars we have gone into have been predicated on the UK joining in. Was it a marriage of convenience? probably but it did give the US more legitimacy than it probably deserved. The unfortunate thing is as per usual the blowback from these decisions has fallen upon the poorer half of the populace.
The issue is not wether US cares about Special relationship with UK/Britain, it is about what kind of relationship they both have, with different governments.
Yeah Australia depends on the U.S. for protection. They have basically no military. Allowed their navy to decompose. Now rely on the U.S. to patrol their waters.
Australians are our brothers in arms who have shown up on every battlefield we have - we love them as a people, culture, and nation. And I can tell you right now if Australia ever had a problem Americans will be volunteering by the millions to aid our brothers & sisters in Australia. Love from the USA.
Sure you can talk about Malaria and the efforts there, but it would be very valuable to have an episode discussing tuberculosis. Could you discuss how it is that, barring COVID, Tuberculosis remains the world's biggest killer when it is entirely preventable and curable? What went wrong when we managed to eradicate it from wealthy countries that meant it continued to wreak havoc elsewhere?
As early as 1922, British interest in the “special relationship” ensured Irish independence. The violent excess that would be required to quell the IRA at the time went against Irish-American sentiment. The British made a deal rather than destroy their relationship with the US.
I really don't understand why we as Brits continue to obsess over this supposed "Special Relationship" which we like to imagine to delude ourselves into thinking we're more important than we actually are. How about we spend a bit more time pursuing our own policies, rather than kowtowing to America who does not and never has had our best interests in mind (not they should do of course). Alastair is a prime example of this problem...
If you listen to people who work in NATO or the Foreign Service/State Dept, you'll find there's little 'kowtowing'. All countries are cantankerous and have their own interests first. But coalitions need a leader and the US is the natural one for that. And to be fair, the US has a unique ability to unite disparate groups - that's the very nature of the United STATES of America which manages to bring together such a diverse population. Otherwise it is _definitely_ in the best interest of the UK to maintain as close a relationship with the US as it can, and vice-versa.
It is in both nation's interest to maintain this strong link. It was an English politician, I wish I could remember his name, who commented after the American revolution that the Americans "dream in English." I think he said this in response to English worries about the American French alliance. Essentially, the Americans will come around to need the English as allies, because of shared language and shared beliefs about the rights of citizens in their respective polities and a surprisingly common view of world threats.
America and Britain are family. Political questions about the relationship are mere logistics. Too much mutual sacrifice to take any other position without having an agenda hostile to both.
I love the podcast guys and have the utmost respect for the tower of knowledge and experience of you both. However as I believe Rory confirmed and as previous questions have eluded to, you two just agree all the time now. This newest period of the podcast does just feel like it's lacking the debate. Having witnessed both of you structuring wonderful debates and getting rich conversation filled with, as Rory once called it: 🫴"the meat of the issue."🫴 I now feel like we watch you zip through subjects skipping detail and missing context. I'd also like to see in some way even a little scrutiny of the new government as it does feel sort of like watching a Fringe left leaning political breakfast show. As I've mentioned any scrutiny there has been kets zipped through barely scratching the sides. Keep doing what you (used to) do. Love the pod.
The special relationship has a low ceiling and a high floor. The UK is limited in its ability to help the United States, and is a post Brexit basket case besides. But the United States can do nothing on its own globally, and in terms of the daily business of running the world, at the UN, at the G7, or in countering PRC and Russian overreach, the UK consistently plays an important, if lesser role. Each item on the list of UNSCRs and leaders statements is of trivial importance, but it's a very long list.
I doubt there is any ‘special relationship’ between the USA and the U.K. There is a strong desire for it to be so by the English (nb not the U.K.) simply because of the history of empire and influence. The English hate it when the first ‘transatlantic’ phone call from a new president goes to the German chancellor or the French president. But unfortunately the relationship is very much a one way thing, it suits America to say there is a relationship when discussing WW2 commemorations, but if you’re discussing trade and finance, the U.K. is well down the list of influence and importance. I would imagine there is a vast difference between what a Labour supporter would feel about the SR, and what a Tory supporter would feel?
A Labour supporter would generally be much more cynical about Britain's international importance & see Tory's as a bunch of fools huffing old Imperial propaganda as the remnants of the wealth of its legacy gets squandered while the real engines of power & commerce where the real work & productivity gets done is left to wither & die just to pump up the imaginary numbers going on in the City of London.
Lads, the Democratic "machine" is powerful. So is the Republican "machine". North Carolina and Texas would be a case in point. I'm Irsh American. I think the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant hegemony is fading. We'll see where that takes the US.
I'm sure Tik Tok has something to do with the attitudes of young Americans, but also remember that the average American has the opposite of an international outlook. They don't know much, nor do they care all that much until push comes to shove. This combined with the fact that younger Americans on generally know even less about international politics than their elders, means that it takes not much more than warm vibes from a trusted source to push them in a particular direction.
The special relationship was based in two great powers collaborating instead of competing. Still true to a degree for military and intelligence, but economic interests diverged as Britain both shrunk and focused on Europe--an investment which it later discarded. Britain and its politicians need to let go of the zero sum political game of posturing as pro-Europe=anti-US or vice versa for the relationship to increase in significance. Also, many young Americans have only ever interacted with Brits & Euros on social media and experienced them being nasty and hateful towards them due to their nationality, which undermines the ability to even see Britain as an ally
To my mind the UK has had a strong sense of entitlement, by its history, which has fomented in some political parties (guess which) as a Post Imperial Masturbation. In trying to save one political party, putting politics before the country, gave us Brexit (Cameron). As long as we were in the EU we were of strategic interest to the US, but that is now not what it was alongside our political and economic dimishment that has followed. There will always be a tacit, likley shared understanding, on many matters, but, unaligned with ‘special’. This does not effect any cultural aspects of liking or disliking.
There are examples where we've allowed that to become the case, but it is not always true and when managed correctly it's mutually beneficial. For example, our close collaboration on defence and intelligence (the MDA, five eyes, AUKUS, Tier 1 participation in the F-35 etc.) increases our influence and supports British industry, even if we are clearly the very junior partner nowadays
@@jonathanphillips5794Naa just another economic vassal of Germany like the rest of the EU 'countries' better to be free with a lighter wallet than a German subject with a bit more money to throw around.
I think it matters much less to the UK than it did. The US were dismayed when the UK joined China's international bank. It'll be very interesting to see how the UK and other European countries respond as dedollarisation efforts gather apace, especially if the US reckons they can enjoy the benefits of empire without the costs and withdraw military contributions to NATO.
The thing with the winter payment is also around energy policy. Ofgem has failed IMO as being a "friend" to the energy companies and not the consumer. Energy is not significantly bought and sold on the basis of wholesale prices in some marketplace - it's within long term contracts that have some form of price variability, and what about transfer pricing for the integrated businesses. So besides GB Energy, what about small projects, especially informing people and perhaps having some form of financing for those in social housing to become less dependent upon the energy companies through solar and other means. There's also a community wind farm on the Isle of Lewis which is benefiting the communities up there rather than the energy companies as well. What are your thoughts.
I was really disappointed to find out that the Eric Adams who was the mayor of New York wasn't the Eric Adams who's the singer in Manowar. We'd live in a much funnier world if it was.
Americas current most important relationship is definitely Japan. Australia and Germany are probably the next on the list, although france might replace germany, if the german economy keeps stumbling.
As Brits we should never loose sight of the fact that the "Special Relationship" is primarily established for the benefit of the US. Over my 76 years on this earth, the UK has become increasingly less relevant in the global context. However, for the US one advantage that we have is that we speak American, this makes communication much easier.
You mean the special relationship whereby the US loaned the UK cash during WW2 (after much pressure) and never wrote it off for its closest ally though they went through an economic boom post war and UK had rationing? From memory I think the UK finished paying back the loan in the early 2000's. The UK paid a heavy price fighting the Nazis in both human life & through the blitz, would have been nice if the US might have recognised that their global growth throughout the world post war was in part enabled by our joint defeat of the Nazis. Then strong-armed into Bush's Iraq 2 war/Afganistan and all the economic & political cost that entailed, again, no financial help from the US, not to mention the loss of life on all sides and the failed outcome. Yep, a special relationship alright.
A bit of context. British & French rivalry with the new competition Germany was none of our business. America had an isolationist policy. The cost of war was huge to the US. Read up on The Battle of the Atlantic. That was just the cost of supplying the UK and the USSR. Don't forget about the Marshall Plan after the war. The US was the backbone of NATO during the Cold War. Now there are 100k US troops spread out across Europe and two Carrier Strike groups. Our F22s and F35s are monitoring European air space.
To be fair, the WW2 loan may not have been cancelled, but it was given at a very favorable rate. And Tony Blair was as hawkish for Iraq as anyone. There were countries who said no that the US could've strong armed far easier.
Misleading the viewers on the Turkey/EU issue. It was the EU or some of its members who continued to block Turkey's membership, because they did not want a Muslim majority country to be a member of EU. Turkey finally lost patience & decided to go its own way. That is also the time that Erdogan's autocratic tendencies came to the front, as long as membership to the EU was on the cards, the Turkish political system kept things in check, for fear of losing out on EU membership.
It's inevitable that the underlying cause of the 'special relationship' with Britain, that is to say the feeling of kinship, will dwindle over time regardless of all other factors than immigration. When I was growing up in Los Angeles during the 90s, my school district was 70% latino. The children of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants, legal or otherwise, have no sentiment whatsoever for the British isles - and it would be ridiculous to expect it of them.
As an American, I there’s only a few countries that are deemed “special” relationships in the US eyes. I think for every other country they just have a relationship with but it’s not a special relationship. If you takeaway the nato obligations to defend other nato allies, the US only has few countries on the list that they are obligated to defend. In order words the US is not obligated to defend the UK outside of its obligation to nato however the US is obligated to defend these countries no matter what. A few of them would Japan and South Korea. Post WW2 Japan is only allowed to have a self defense force an as a result the US made an obligation to defend them no matter what. As for South Korea, the US has signed an act that also ensure that they will defend them no matter what. This makes sense as the US help contribute into what makes South Korea what is is today; essentially they are the US child. Canada is also on that list as well as Taiwan. Those are what I see as special relationships to the US.
The 1945 Labour Govt was able to invest because consumption was heavily controlled and there was a relentless focus on exports, productivity and the balance of payments.
The USA does what's best for the USA, it always has. See Suez, Grenada, wasn't really interested in helping during Falklands conflict. To think anything else is British naivety and a bit sad and desperate. The USA does have a special relationship with one country possibly two. Those being Israel and the Republic of Ireland.
@@johnbd9765 The British lost any semblance of the power of Empire after the first world war and it was in decline way before then. The fact that they tried to keep up the illusion or delusion of empire is neither here nor there. However Suez was/is a vital strategic asset for the whole of the West. I think as far as the USA was concerned any destabilisation of the region threatened it's significant economic interests in the region especially in terms of oil. The American people at the time and the adminstration purported to be anti colonialist although I suspect a certain selective cognitive dissonance is required there. So as I say the USA was exercising it's droit de seigneur as the super power of the time and everyone else be damned. Fair enough, but it's so called allies should see this. In fact the French and much of Europe has for a long time. And don't bother with yea but USA protects Europe. It's not in the USA's interest to have Russian nukes stationed in the Bay of Biscay. But it is in their interest to have USA nukes stationed in Germany.
@@johnbd9765 Well as the British and French were humiliatingly thrown out of Egypt it rather turns our we did doesn't it? The British lost any semblance of the power of Empire after the first world war. the fact that they tried to maintain the illusion/delusion is neither here nor there. The USA made a calculated decision whether to help or not and decided it was in its own best interests not to help it's allies. Fair enough, it's what super powers do. However it's so called allies should be clear eyed about this and not delude themselves with special relationship nonsense.
@@the500mphtortoisewe initiated article 5 to legitimized war America invading a random third world country is never a good look. But America and a bunch of other respected European countries is better. The UK is a vassal state to America and they do what they're told when they are told
Any Brit who maintains the idea that the country has a special relationship with the US had better avert their eyes when an American president visits Ireland.
This really makes no sense. What does Ireland provide for the US that the UK does not? The answer is absolutely nothing. At least the UK is contributing to the fight against Russian expansionism in Europe, something Ireland hasn't lifted a finger to do. They couldn't even be bothered to aid in stopping Hitler's Nazi Germany.
Every reason Rory gave for being a Conservative has really nothing to do with being a Conservative. Conservatives are conservatives because they grow up in a Conservative household, in the same way Christians are Christians when they grow up in a Christian household and racists grow up in a racist household. I also take issue with his objection about Labour being too close to unions. Unions influencing government policy are more likely to lift people into the middle class. We've seen from the last Tory government that capitalists influencing government policy are more likely to start emptying the middle class and growing the working class even for people in middle class jobs like nursing and teaching.
I think the better view is whether the UK should have a close relationship with the US. Frankly, the American Empire is collapsing. It's financially bust, morally discredited, and it's ethical and social exports undermine UK values everyday. It's a very difficult call but assigning our UN Security Council vote to sustain carte blanche bad illegal and simply wrong values does nothing for the UK. The US may opt for isolation but in effect it is already there. It has lost Africa, South America, the Middle East and large parts of Asian and Europe. We are tied to the US under the illusion that NATO will provide security but one look at Ukraine and Gaza is clear evidence NATO is no more than an instrument kf US Foreign policy. It is a guarantee of absolutely nothing. The UK must move on and recover its ibdependence.
I’m a dual US-UK citizen. One of the questions was, how do Americans view the UK as an ally? The Trump voting Americans, roughly half, appreciate the UK relationship as much as the Brexit voting half of the UK appreciate the EU. There are a lot of people who don’t pay attention to and value international relations and free trade. They consume news and media content that feeds discontent for which isolationism appeals. In short, with the modern day splintering of media with social media bubbles the western world faces a crisis where the voters have a distorted view as to the reality. The traditional democratic countries alliances are in danger of splintering as these voters will vote for politicians and policies that will dismantle the free trade agreements and undermine our economies.
Doesn't Australia also have a special relationship with the US? Or is that the UK? Or is it both? Probably both. But that raises more questions. How can we have a special relationship with both?
@@gerardodwyer5908 Australia's special relationship with China is making the US jealous. Its basically this gag. ruclips.net/video/eCcl7_CPsvE/видео.html
There are things the UK and the US share that aren't shared between any other nations. The 'Special Relationship' is unique. It doesn't just mean 'special.'
Rosatom the Russian Nuclear power agency are building, and operating Four Nuclear reactors in Akkuyu Turkey comprising Four 1,200 MWe VVER1200 Power station units. It's pretty clear why Turkey wants to join Brics...
For the people who matter the special relationship is incredibly important. Its just that the US is a large country and thus has just that many more ignorant people. Those in govenment, military, intelligence, and those who study and appreciate foreign policy and diplomacy absolutely understand its the UK when the special relationship is mentioned and also understand how much WE benefitted from it. The UK took a young bullish diplomatically clumsy US, sat them down at the adults table and said this is how you hold your fork.
As someone under the age of 30, I can assure you most of us dont think a strong relationship with China is important because of Tik Tok. I work in the energy space and China is *at least* half of everything. We'd want to have a strong relationship with a country yielding such power (though of course there are risks).
I am a Brit but hoping that Kamala becomes US President. However, I can’t help wonder if Trump is better known for his ‘special relationships’! Sadly they don’t all go smoothly and some get decidedly ‘stormy’. 😊
It does sound rather childish when you think about it. Like being in school saying we have a “special relationship”. I think the UK sway in the world is nowhere near what it used to be. I highly doubt Russia, China, North Korea and a whole lot of other countries really care when we have our politicians warning them about things they’re doing.
The special relationship is so special that the Americans don't know about it.
No, as far as foreign countries Americans think of the UK first. We just don't make a big deal of this 'special relationship' idea because its so obvious, we are acutely aware of our close ties to the UK.
I think Americans know about it. I think Americans see the UK as their closest ally.
And Canada as their nearest ally.
@@bunny_smith So when Russia does it's vassal but when US does it's friend
The only other country we Americans know exist is the UK. But the UK has nothing to offer that a good partner would have. You have no military apart from nukes. London aside you have to GDP of Mississippi. Unfortunately the UK is irrelevant and only gets to speak on the world stage cause you have a cool flag and had a good navy 200 years ago.
@@GnosticwareAs an older American l thought awareness of the "special relationship" was a Republican/Democrat thing rather than old vs young. It will be interesting to see whether the bill requiring ByteDance to divest or cease US operations will be enforced.
“America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests” ― Henry Kissinger
And he stole that from Lord Palmerston
I have always been pretty cynical about the special relationship, but that quote tells you everything you need to know about Kissinger.
@@regarded9702
Doesn't mean that he didn't mean It.
Or indeed, that it was any less appropriate.
@@terryhand Kissinger was an awful human being (and I'm very cheerful to say 'was'), but he was mostly right on this one.
Perhaps it isn't so much that America HAS interests, but that America is, increasingly, owned and controlled BY intetests - some of which aren't even American.
At our Founding, we stood for certain ideas and values. Not that we were pure, but those ideas and values had a lot to do with how we defined our interests.
We have come to stand, mainly, for corporate interests - which are, necessarily, transient, materialistic, and neither humane nor even patriotic.
Every country has a special relationship with the USA.
To quote Rammstein:
"We're all living in Amerika, Amerika, it's wunderbar
We're all living in Amerika, Coca-Cola, Wonder Bra
We're all living in Amerika, Amerika, it's wunderbar
We're all living in Amerika, Coca-Cola, sometimes war
This is not a love song
I don't speak my mothers tongue"
I can't believe we still reference this special relationship - it's like a child seeking continual approval from their mother. We really need to grow-up and realise that the world is a much more ambiguous place than it was 70+ years ago.
How so? Is the UK going to align with ... what, China? Russia - ok not those two. How about India, which practices 'diplomacy of convenience'. There's the EU, well enough said about that. So who out there should the UK more closely align with in this 'ambiguous' world?
@@Gnosticware You've mis-understood my post. I'm not for one moment suggesting we don't align with the US. My point is that the special relationship doesn't really exist and we should not allow ourselves to be so readily seduced by its notion. We align with countries who have similar values and objectives to us and where there is a synergy and respect to the alliance i.e. I've got your back/you've got my back.
@@albertperks3476 OK, but for a thing that doesn't exist everybody sure talks about it a lot.
@@Gnosticware it makes the country, and the politicians, feel important thinking there is a special relationship with the US.
I had thought it just meant “We’re good friends”, I’m appalled if this is what my politicians get up to just lil broing themselves. I’m glad we’re not like Australia though where the regular people are talking about how great allies they are to massa US “We’ve been in every war together!!” Lol
I think the UK exaggerates its importance on the world stage. Its relationship is as special/mundane as any other country.
The UK thinks it's still an important country like it used to be.
@@shponger-q7o Yes that's exactly the sort of thing I mean. UK pretending it's still important by being America's poodle in Iraq.
As an Englishman who emigrated to the USA and now holds dual citizenship, it doesn't matter a shrivelled fig to the US.
Brexit has so damaged the UK economically and politically, that it is just a nation looking to its past for importance.
If the UK was still in the EU it would be a much stronger partner for the US to help steer the EU towards US goals and values.
The major EU nations are far more important to the USA as political and economic partners.
UK is LESS important since BREXIT. Brexit is seen as a loser move.
what did we get from the US in return for exercising influence within the EU?
It seems to me that less influence in Europe can only be a good thing
We don't want the UK to look or act like us, actually, and it's not going well
@@stleonards1066 What are you getting from the US now since Brexshit lol? Your American masters "forgot" to inform you that they were withdrawing from Kabul, so your "army" had to run away head over heels, chased out by a bunch of armed shepherds.
The data that they literally read out to you says otherwise.
It's curious how UK media outlets like the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 dedicate far more coverage to US political affairs than to European politics-or even British politics, at times. This trend has persisted for the past 20 years since I moved here. While the UK's relationship with the US is undoubtedly important, I would argue it's no more critical than our ties with other major global players like India, China, Japan, or even Argentina and Chile.
Why is it that people here are more likely to know about a scandal in the New York mayor's office than what's happening in the European Parliament? Despite the UK's former position within the EU, our media have consistently failed to provide substantive coverage of European governance or politics. It’s as though our proximity and political ties to Europe have been sidelined in favor of an Anglo-American narrative.
As an American myself, I see that the US interest in the UK often boils down to language, the monarchy, and its place within Europe. Yes, there are longstanding military and intelligence ties, but every nation forges strategic relationships. These bonds are not as unique as they're often portrayed. The media's focus on the US at the expense of covering equally significant relationships seems misplaced, especially considering the UK's strategic importance globally.
And let's be honest-regardless of who holds the US presidency, there’s always a public show of getting along with the UK. That’s not unique to the US; virtually every country puts on the same diplomatic front, portraying harmony for the cameras. The real question is why this predictable spectacle dominates our news cycles while more pressing geopolitical relationships receive little attention.
The US is the most important country in the world. Every country cares what goes on there.
@@adtastic1533it’s a mess
American affairs are mostly conducted in English and that makes all the difference.
Well in America, we have a problem with our media not really telling us what’s going on in other parts of the world. We just get bits and pieces and the same old back and forth political b.s. I don’t watch it anymore. We have to do our own research. Unfortunately, not everyone has time for that.
@@rolandscales9380Then why don't you get info on Ireland , Australia, New Zealand, Canada?
I'm an American. Can someone explain why people think we have a special (growing?) affinity for Ireland? I think we view Ireland in a positive light, but similarly to how we view the
rest of the anglosphere.
Also, while I get it's natural to feel jaded about a relationship that's one-sided, I think another comment said it best in that our media doesn't typically cover our economic relationships and partnerships. Those sort of fluctuations seem big to you all, but the average American really isn't noticing or thinking about it. I really think the way Americans view our allies hasn't changed at all, just less interest.
I am British but have lived in the US for a few years and I completely agree with you. Britain has a historical self obsession with itself and how it is viewed by others, especially the US, which is somewhat understandable given it was until the early 20th century the proeminent superpower in the world.
Bryson America will always view Ireland as special beyond others because so many of us have Irish roots!
As a Brit I think UK politicians suck up to the US government a little too much and focus on the special relationship too much as well. Brits and Americans know we are close allies and have been since WWII and there is absolutely no need to keep bringing it up every time our leaders meet. Our British leaders always seem to seek validation from American leaders every time they come together and that only makes us look desperate. At the same time it flatters the American ego.
The hard truth is, we value the relationship more than America does because we need America more than America needs us. That's the way of things in the current climate so why make a big deal about it? Does the average American even care? why should we? We are politically obliged to support each other in time of need and that should be enough. We are culturally close, we are friends and allies in all ways essential and regardless of who's in power, I doubt it will change in any meaningful way. We don't have to be America's favourite pals to get what we both want out of the relationship.
Without America, Britain has no place at the top table. Countries like China, Russia, Iran won't pay any attention to Britain without America
Does America really care about the ‘special relationship’? No, never has, never will. It just shows how feeble UK politics is. The only UK Prime Minister who got it right was Hugh Grant in Love Actually.
The luke warm support for the UK during the Falklands war. And the invasion of Grenada in 1983, a British territory, without informing the British government, is all you need to know about the special relationship.
Did you listen at all? Over half of American's still consider the UK to be it's most important ally. Not to mention over half of 70+ yr olds (so your 'never has' line is also bollocks). Yes the UK is shit, but this metric is not a good one to use to declare this fact.
Wilson kept the UK out of Vietnam. Seems an interesting comparison with Blair.
It's a special relationship, just that international relationships are extremely polyamorous.
Baloney, the UK is the top military partner in Europe. Unfortunately you Brits are letting it wither away.
Like most of have said here, it only matters when America wants/needs it to I.e military ops, defence etc. Otherwise they couldn’t give one solitary shit about it.
The same is true in reverse, just throw in trade
@@bicker31agreed the City of London and Wall Street are intertwined in many ways.
If Wall Street slumps so does the City of London.
We live in a world now where every country and society in the free world is linked in multiple ways with every other and they are all more and more linked to China which is the biggest economic danger to all as of China fails it will drag down the rest of us and atm China is trying to fix issues such as corruption and borrowing that make many Chinese companies v dodgy.
@@BAZ8900 yup, we are USS United Kingdom.
America cares a lot about the UK, we would die to defend it. So piss off.
@@warlockCommitteeMeetingexactly how I feel about it. As an American myself, I greatly appreciate the British people, I would say it goes both ways. Our countries are very deeply intertwined more than any other country for both sides. We are culturally alike. We ride and die with one another and if one were to attack either they attack both.
Please let me assure you as a Canadian, the Americans only have one special relationship, and that is with America.
Canada wake up!
Is that why we defend your airspace for you?
"I think it means a lot more to Brits than it does to Americans" You are conflating what our political class think with what the general public think. Most Brits don't give a crap about this one sided political relationship, they know its a scam and have a much greater desire to be close to Europe.
A fair point.
They were talking about the generational divide in the US where older Americans see the UK as the closest partner while younger Americans don't, so I'd also be curious to see a similar survey done here in the UK. I would imagine there might be a similar divide here, with the older generation looking to the US as our closest ally while the younger look to the EU.
Why wouldn't it be seen as a special relationship by Britons? After all, America is the current global superpower, and its institutions are more or less a product of the British/Anglo-Saxon civilisation.
Many won't like to admit it, but there must be a sense of pride in the average British person in terms of how relatively successful British settler colonies have turned out: US, Aus, NZ and Canada. To say that there was never the basis for a special relationship between the UK and the US is proposterous.
I think it always has no? From my understanding it was always Churchill who pushed for it.
@@melbourneplanespotter3631 'British civilisation - bragging rights' Okey dokey.
@@melbourneplanespotter3631 stop with the family allegories
As a Texan that spent 2 years of my childhood in GB as a military brat- yes, we see you as a friend, an ally, & a member of the immediate family! I still communicate with British friends of 1965!
As a Texan myself I agree 100%.. the UK-US relationship will always be important for both parties, Wall Street and London are twin brothers. How many Americans own Football Clubs in the EPL? I’ve grown to notice that the military of both countries respect one another more than the average citizen bc you see first hand that relationship. Whereas it’s kinda unknown for the average person.
As a Floridian I disagree I think most people without European ancestry or more southern country folks could five a rats ass about the UK.
@@Kalergiplansupporter Southern Country folks usually couldn't give a rats ass about anyone who isn't Southern Country folks.
As Britain becomes poorer and less relevant in the world, the relationship remains only in the academic ties of language and history. As far as the USA is concerned, it's like an old uncle, past his prime, remembering his glory days, while dozing in the corner at family gatherings. (AND yes, before anybody comments, I WAS born and bred in the UK)
Not true - the UK has been the top military partner in Europe. The problem is that the Pentagon has been warning them that their military is rapidly becoming second tier with funding and recruitment issues. But yes, if the UK lets its military wither, and continues outside the EU than that can't be helped.
I'm an American. I don't think that's a fair assessment. I know the British like to be self-deprecating, though.
@@bunny_smithIt is a fair assessment
Suggestion for a topic: Given the current situation in the US, why is it that in the UK there is never a threat of the government "shutting down", whereas in the US it seems to happen fairly often?
It’s a bit of a late answer but the reason why the US has this process’s of shutting down is because of its debt ceiling that it has implemented.
Now this debt ceiling is entirely arbitrary and every time the debt has come close to the celling it has been raised, not raising it would cause a total government collapse since no more money can be borrowed and spend. The reason why it exists is to always blame the ruling party when the debt ceiling gets close even though both parties are to blame.
What usually happens is that the ruling party fires a lot of government employees since if the debt ceiling is reached they can not afford to pay them and blames the opposition party from stopping the ceiling from being raised, thereby causing unemployment.
So it becomes a political game on which party caves first the Republicans or the Democrats there is usually some kind of deal the only thing that is certain that one party always caves and that the debt ceiling is raised.
Post WWII the US is unique and in a unique position obviously, it's natural that it has a 'special relationship' with all the countries mentioned. Yes the UK because the two are probably the most culturally aligned and due to the US colonies, France of course also due to the Revolution, Lady Liberty etc, Canada is our bestie neighbor, Japan and Germany are two countries who we pulled out of autocracy and enabled them to become global great powers again and are now close friends. All the NATO countries fall under that umbrella. Each relationship is different, and special in its own way. As an American I have warm feelings about all of those countries, for their respective reasons.
China is nothing but a a bad great power demanding undeserved respect.
@@Gnosticware so America says, but it's a multipolar world now, and it's not just an American hegemony.
@@battybibliophile-Clare As China would like everybody to believe. Fact is that China is only an economic super power, their military has never been tested, and they are weak everywhere else except Space. Russia is no longer a Superpower. Otherwise the US was never a Hegemony - you are parroting more China/Russia (mostly China) narrative, but it's funny how China keeps saying that, while it's _exactly_ what China aspires to, at least in its region. Same as Russia.
@@battybibliophile-Clare Well, you aren't saying that on the Chinese youtube that's on the Chinese internet. The problem with China is the CCP and Xi in particular. He has turned China into a different direction than the West and they aren't well equipped to go it alone.
@@battybibliophile-Clare And the point still stands
I understand that the special relationship transcends the PM/President personal relations. It is operational in three key areas. The nuclear deterrent, special forces, and intelligence
This is the real answer. Economically they can turn on a dime and only look out for their interests (as most nations do), but when it comes to military intelligence & technology, the two nations are deeply interconnected in a way that can't be unwound easily or quickly e.g. US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, Five Eyes, AUKUS etc.
The USD is their power, and that is backed up by the US military. So to be involved at the highest levels of intel in the military is a special relationship regardless of what public perception is.
@@jamesbt1012 Exactly. Well said. The perception of what the special relationship is by the public is off. The fleeting vaguity of whether PM X and Pres Y get on is largely irrelevant for the day to day operations. At least in my opinion
We need the US permission to fire our Tridents 😂
@@deadandburied7626 No we don't, where on earth did you hear that?
@deadandburied7626 Our nuclear submarines keep a letter from the current Prime Minister in a safe, containing orders for what to do in the event that contact with the government is lost (i.e. in the event of a nuclear attack) - one of the first things a new Prime Minister does is write these orders. So not only can our nuclear weapons be launched without US permission, they can technically be fired when the entire UK government has been destroyed.
Because they'd be pointless otherwise.
This special relationship Infuriates me. It is total bollocks. UK does as told as and nothing more. We want to be free from Europe but lie down and let US tickle our tummy for a photo opp' at the White House.
The UK is doing all the work of screwing itself - Brexit has been a disaster, but the UK is still very important to the US as its key military partner in Europe. If Britain wants to screw itself some more it should turn its back on the US, and unfortunately you folks are letting that military wither away.
The UK just doesn't have the economic or political power it once did. We chose not to be apart of Europe so have to make it up elsewhere.
Sadly .. the UK is irrelevant these days.
Look at Indonesia. Just because we speak English........
Churchill was nearly 100 years ago.
Wake up guys.
Why do you think Churchill should be a model for peacetime? He served our interests in ridding Europe of Hitler, he wasn't much to write home about apart from that.....
When David Cameron was Foreign Secretary Marjory Taylor Greene said "He can kiss my ass". I suppose that's special, in a way.
I’m sick how this country sucks up to America , we have always inspired to be like America and this is why we are in a mess today. money before morals.
Perhaps younger people see the relationship with Britain as a part of a broader institutional decay; the US is ignoring the very laws it helped create and Britain voted Brexit; it must be hard for a younger generation to see value.
Which laws are these that we are ignoring, you deluded nonsense?
Why did the government decide to cut all winter fuel money at a certain point, instead of reduce the amount over an earnings bracket? A simple example here, but if you get £100 winter fuel at £12000 pension, £50 at £12050 etc. would that not be a better way of doing things, while avoiding stories of people missing out by £1?
Because by giving the WFP to those who already receive other credits, they can administer it using already established systems. Means-testing it in the way you suggest would require developing an additional system, which would wipe out any savings made by cutting the payment in the first place.
Helmet Schmidt (former German kansler) said about “the special relationship between UK and US) that it is so special that only one of the parties knows about it😂
Kansler?
@@heycidskyja4668 German word for Chancellor.
@@jmaitland5709Kanzler aka Bundeskanzler😂
Smart man
@agamemnonhatred a very smart man - had his fault too though...
Britain has been a US vassal since 1945, maybe a bit earlier. The way Brits make this demeaning and humiliating relationship palatable to themselves is by using the euphemism of the "special relationship." It's a very one-sided affair: the US tells what Britain to do, when to trot behind it, when to bark and Britain complies, while getting nothing in return. Tom Stevenson's recent book, "Someone Else's Empire", is well worth reading.
You have Hitler to blame for that...
Spot on
Nothing in return?? The reason Putin hasnt attack the UK yet is because of NATO, which is owned by the US...
Canadians also like to toss around the term Special Relationship when it comes to the US. I think we've all had the experience growing up of having that 'friend' who was fun to hang around with but was a bit of an abusive psychopath.
You're no different the US. Your tar sands are destroying the planet and you obey the Pentagon's commands 90% of the time because you're a good little lap dog.
You just don't get the heat because you're 10% as relevant as the US globally.
@@heydonhiggins3765 For being so geographically close and speaking the same language - Canada and the US are sooooo very different and Americans and Canadians have very different sensibilities I’ve found - not making any value judgments of course
@@nannersguyaners2745 French Canada erasure smh
@@seamusogdonn-gaidhligarain2745 yeah I don’t even understand what you’re referring to … proves my point 😂
That’s not very special relationship of you to say.
I'll tell you who doesn't have a special relationship with the US. The US citizens
a good chunk of em yeah
@@RamonesFan201nah, it’s only the gen z leftists.
As a young american- of course China should be seen as the most important. They make all of the world's goods and are the 2nd leg of the global economy. I think a lot of us recognize that China is gonna be China and the US doesn't necessarily need to stop them. We each have our own sovereignties and should just work to make those work. Iraq and Afghanistan was our generation's coming of age. It made it obvious that we can't make the world in our image and that we shouldn't be attempting to. All people deserve to prosper and if China can do it their way, let them. We just need to focus on making sure we do better > focus on investments at home and with our closest friends (CAN, MX, UK).
Authoritarian leaders don't care about their country's reputation, and neither do their nationalist supporters. A US Administration that cares about Europe and NATO will value its relationship with the UK.
Alternatively, an authoritarian leader values the internal perception of the country and ignores the external perception of the country A high internal reputation allows an authoritarian leader to sacrifice individual freedoms for benefit of the nation state.
@@davegoldthere is no benefit to authoritarianism. It leads to disaster and ruin every time
Exactly what value is the US getting out of Europe and NATO again? Apparently we're paying to keep Russia from driving their tanks into central Paris and the thanks we get is nose bleeding tariffs slapped on all our exports, and a sanctimonious delusion of superiority.
@@adtastic1533 NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in its history after 9/11. If the US no longer wants the allied forces of 32 countries to have its back, just say the word.
@@danmayberry1185we need them far more then they need us as a collective.
The US and the UK remain very close politically, diplomatically and culturally. Even if Americans do not think as much as Brits do about the “Special Relationship” specifically, they get up on Saturday mornings to watch the Premier League, they watch Downton Abbey and Slow Horses, they read British literature in school and spend more time than Brits obsessing about the Royals. The two nations are very close.
Do you live in the USA?
Yes - in the Northeast, which might be a bit closer culturally to the UK than the West or the South
@@kateofthings I'm in Oregon, lived here 14 years after 4 decades as a Londoner. Yes, quite different culturally I think.
I'll have to look up Slow Horses, I've never heard of it before.
@@kateofthings Interestin, would love to know more about that royal thing, is it a big element of tabloid media?
Yeah, I live in Chicago and zero people do that
The Good Friday Agreement was a class act & the finale of your special relationship !!
As an American I always find it interesting to observe how others see us (ouch), and also to have glimpses of what England and the rest of Europe are up to. The US news is so focused on what we're all about (which right now is ONLY the election) that one soon becomes almost brain dead about the rest of the world. So glad I discovered your podcast and the hugely intelligent and insightful Rory Cameron. P.S. Am so on board with his idea of giving money directly to needy people.
I mean really UK has nothing to do with us
The US is like a sailor, one is every port ! It has a special relationship with so many countries!😂
clap clap, hurray from southernmost nz.. good work. please keep it up!
Definitely not! Just spent two hours in a queue to get into this country at O'Hare from Heathrow. I'm Irish and if flying from Dublin, can be 'processed' there in a quick and easy manner, then just walk through on the US side. Why won't they do that for everyone in the British Isles? They could care less about the British people whatever about the government!
No, they hold us in complete and utter contempt! Next question please
Some might get nostalgic and feel some warm fuzzy feelings, but when there is any kind of pressure, America will not waver in acting in it's own interests. and just like all other countries, Britain has to fall in line to make sure that it's interests align with what America wants if it wants to benefit from American decisions instead of suffering from them.
@@InnuendoXP America learned from the best at it, The British. It's only obvious that countries maintain their own priorities first, don't get a chip on your shoulder over it, but realize that the British Empire is gone, so you can drop the inflated ego. I think in an existential threat to the UK would be different, but other countries are not going to help you rebuild your standing in the world, just to go back to sitting between weighing the interests of Europe and America. UK put up with US out of necessity not preference.
I do. I also care profoundly about NATO. But I was raised by the “Greatest Generation.” I’m also a female military veteran and historian. Sadly, I find my fellow citizens increasingly detached from the importance of allies. And I fear most have no idea the effect our Presidential elections have on the rest of the world.
The value of the UK to the US in the past was explained in the Firing Line episode hosted by William F. Buckley Jr. called “Is England Still Influencing America?” Buckley was joined in the discussion by Christopher Hitchens and John O'Sullivan.
To summarize O’Sullivan’s view, the UK had value to the US as a connection between the US and Western Europe involving the encouragement of free trade.
- With Brexit, and its protectionist slant, does that role for the UK still exist? It seems to be greatly weakened and so the value of the UK for the US has become much weaker and the US would probably much rather deal with the EU directly.
They care when it matters to them.
The UK? Yes agree 😅 Look the relationship is very important to both countries.
As an American, the special relationship does seem special to me. But I’m a bit of an Anglophile, evidenced by me watching this podcast I guess…
Me too.
I don't think it's about the individuals in both countries it's a political thing.
As a Brit I see it this way. Our countries are more like relatives than friends. We British shouldn't have to persistently seek validation of that relationship. No one goes up to a father, mother, brother or sister constantly asking for reassurance that the relationship is OK and that it's above all other relationships. That is just nothing but insecurity speaking. We Brits know who the senior partner is in all this and it doesn't really matter.
@@MadLFCI generally agree I see Britain and the USA as like many families I’ve known.
If one member of a family has a go at another family member that’s fine it doesn’t break the family. But if an outsider attacks a family member or the family itself then all the family members will join together to defend the family member or the family from attack.
@@nigeh5326 the anglosphere in a nutshell
This American cares about it. The UK is our closest ally after Canada. Whether culturally, militarily, historically, and in terms of international relationship, we have always been connected with the mother country. In many ways the current US soft empire is the continuation of the British Empire, and I genuinely believe if we stopped trying to distance ourselves from that legacy, it would be helpful for the United States to learn from the British. The Anglosphere countries have much in common with their fellow members since we descend from the same cultures, historical institutions, and have at various times emulated one another.
Americans who forget this do themselves a disservice. It is because of the Magna Carta that we have our basis in Common Law. It is because of the War of Three Kingdoms and Glorious Revolution we have representative government. It is because of the Norman Conquest we speak this form of English. We erred by not supporting our wartime ally during the Cold War, as the British have ever supported most American foreign policy decisions with the exception of Vietnam, but even then, Australia was involved.
Greater cultural and economic ties between the US and the Commonwealth would be beneficial, but whether it be “anti-colonial” sentiment or isolationism, my fellow Americans seem to be hesitant to engage more with our Special Relationship.
It makes sense Clinton, a Rhodes Scholar, would though, as I believe that was one of the purposes of the scholarship to begin with.
Eh in terms of empire, influence, and lessons to be learned, the British could stand to learn from themselves & their own history.
Unfortunately as is commonly the case, conservatives have stoked blind nationalism and myth-making of a Britain that never was to shore up their own voter-base which prevents Britain from being a great country in the future as it believes in fairytales about its own past.
Britain in the past was under no illusions about its smallness and vulnerability, which is why it built such a powerful navy, and ruthlessly leveraged every advantage it possessed of technology, influence, trade, statecraft & ultimately, violence.
Because a large single power on mainland Europe could threaten Britain with invasion by being far more populaced & better resourced, Britain played an antagonistic role by cynically doing everything it could at preventing unity & power consolidation while seeking it's own resources from even more vulnerable territories overseas.
But many modern day British nationalists have drank the kool-aid Imperial propaganda that there was an inherent superiority & intangible specialness to Britain & that its success was practically a gift granted by God. & Old Britain would have believed this at their peril.
So in that respect, George Bush's concept of "we fight them over there or else we'll have to fight them over here" applies just as much to Britain fighting France & Spain in the Americas as it does to America fighting it's wars elsewhere. Except unlike Britain, the USA isn't vulnerable, it's a vast continent-spanning immensely well-resourced fortress of a country.
The winter fuel allowance furore is more about the optics of it being announced around the time of agreeing a pay increase for train drivers of 15% over 3 years, without any changes to working practices, when UK train drivers are already paid significantly more than in Europe (about 50% more than in France, for example).
Such a great podcast, the US version is fantastic too!
Ireland is the USA’s strategic interest in Europe these days, Brexit wrecked everything for the U.K. ..
A toothless collective security freerider on the far periphery of the continent is far from America's primary strategic interest in Europe. It isn't even top 10. Does it host vital bases like Germany or Turkey or scads of others? Is it an indispensable player in a vital high-tech sector like the Netherlands? Does it have a serious military capable of protecting force like France? Geographic lynchpin like the Scandinavian countries? Major arms customer like Poland? It may well not be top 20.
No, there has never been a special relationship, America speaks and England dances.
Regarding Rory talking about 'friendships' ending, I find it hard to imagine that it would come as a surprise if someone you knew went and supported Johnson.
Even if they'd not articulated it previously you'd just.... Know. And you'd have a pretty good idea as to why they would support him. And so you'd be in a position to judge whether you really liked the person. None of this takes genius levels of insight.
Alistair and Rory, you didn’t answer the question about the custodial prison sentences for people making statements on Facebook and criminals being released early to create space in the prison system. I would like to go further and ask how can Julia Sweeny be given a 15 month prison sentence for a disgusting post she made on Facebook about attacking a mosque. But Huw Edwards who had dozens of indecent images of children as young as 7 not see the inside of a prison cell?
American here, I think it's pretty clear that in my lifetime the US/UK relationship has been a fairly strong one in the fact that most of the wars we have gone into have been predicated on the UK joining in. Was it a marriage of convenience? probably but it did give the US more legitimacy than it probably deserved. The unfortunate thing is as per usual the blowback from these decisions has fallen upon the poorer half of the populace.
I think we as Americans should do what we can to help out and provide for dear old dad. After all we are still family.
The issue is not wether US cares about Special relationship with UK/Britain, it is about what kind of relationship they both have, with different governments.
Well both governments are constitutional soo there shouldn't be that big of a difference.
You forgot to add Australia to the list. The US has a “special relationship” with us too.
Yeah Australia depends on the U.S. for protection. They have basically no military. Allowed their navy to decompose. Now rely on the U.S. to patrol their waters.
Australians are our brothers in arms who have shown up on every battlefield we have - we love them as a people, culture, and nation. And I can tell you right now if Australia ever had a problem Americans will be volunteering by the millions to aid our brothers & sisters in Australia. Love from the USA.
I mean to be fair all the anglophone countries are like a little family, because we share the most similarities.
Sure you can talk about Malaria and the efforts there, but it would be very valuable to have an episode discussing tuberculosis. Could you discuss how it is that, barring COVID, Tuberculosis remains the world's biggest killer when it is entirely preventable and curable? What went wrong when we managed to eradicate it from wealthy countries that meant it continued to wreak havoc elsewhere?
As early as 1922, British interest in the “special relationship” ensured Irish independence. The violent excess that would be required to quell the IRA at the time went against Irish-American sentiment. The British made a deal rather than destroy their relationship with the US.
I really don't understand why we as Brits continue to obsess over this supposed "Special Relationship" which we like to imagine to delude ourselves into thinking we're more important than we actually are. How about we spend a bit more time pursuing our own policies, rather than kowtowing to America who does not and never has had our best interests in mind (not they should do of course). Alastair is a prime example of this problem...
I agree totally.
Everybody has to dance to America's tune, like it or not, but it's better than dancing to China's or Russia's
@@adtastic1533 or so the US tells us, but can you believe any of the three?
You're ungrateful
If you listen to people who work in NATO or the Foreign Service/State Dept, you'll find there's little 'kowtowing'. All countries are cantankerous and have their own interests first. But coalitions need a leader and the US is the natural one for that. And to be fair, the US has a unique ability to unite disparate groups - that's the very nature of the United STATES of America which manages to bring together such a diverse population.
Otherwise it is _definitely_ in the best interest of the UK to maintain as close a relationship with the US as it can, and vice-versa.
It is in both nation's interest to maintain this strong link. It was an English politician, I wish I could remember his name, who commented after the American revolution that the Americans "dream in English." I think he said this in response to English worries about the American French alliance. Essentially, the Americans will come around to need the English as allies, because of shared language and shared beliefs about the rights of citizens in their respective polities and a surprisingly common view of world threats.
Ridiculous nonsense just spouting ridiculous nonsense when the French have always been our biggest allies.
America and Britain are family. Political questions about the relationship are mere logistics. Too much mutual sacrifice to take any other position without having an agenda hostile to both.
Rory's TED talk (on cash transfers) referenced here, is brilliant. Send the link to everyone you know who donates to well-meaning charities
I love the podcast guys and have the utmost respect for the tower of knowledge and experience of you both.
However as I believe Rory confirmed and as previous questions have eluded to, you two just agree all the time now.
This newest period of the podcast does just feel like it's lacking the debate. Having witnessed both of you structuring wonderful debates and getting rich conversation filled with, as Rory once called it:
🫴"the meat of the issue."🫴
I now feel like we watch you zip through subjects skipping detail and missing context.
I'd also like to see in some way even a little scrutiny of the new government as it does feel sort of like watching a Fringe left leaning political breakfast show. As I've mentioned any scrutiny there has been kets zipped through barely scratching the sides.
Keep doing what you (used to) do. Love the pod.
The special relationship has a low ceiling and a high floor. The UK is limited in its ability to help the United States, and is a post Brexit basket case besides. But the United States can do nothing on its own globally, and in terms of the daily business of running the world, at the UN, at the G7, or in countering PRC and Russian overreach, the UK consistently plays an important, if lesser role. Each item on the list of UNSCRs and leaders statements is of trivial importance, but it's a very long list.
I doubt there is any ‘special relationship’ between the USA and the U.K.
There is a strong desire for it to be so by the English (nb not the U.K.) simply because of the history of empire and influence.
The English hate it when the first ‘transatlantic’ phone call from a new president goes to the German chancellor or the French president. But unfortunately the relationship is very much a one way thing, it suits America to say there is a relationship when discussing WW2 commemorations, but if you’re discussing trade and finance, the U.K. is well down the list of influence and importance.
I would imagine there is a vast difference between what a Labour supporter would feel about the SR, and what a Tory supporter would feel?
A Labour supporter would generally be much more cynical about Britain's international importance & see Tory's as a bunch of fools huffing old Imperial propaganda as the remnants of the wealth of its legacy gets squandered while the real engines of power & commerce where the real work & productivity gets done is left to wither & die just to pump up the imaginary numbers going on in the City of London.
It is a one sided relationship which is convenient for the US and important for the UK ever since WW2.
Lads, the Democratic "machine" is powerful. So is the Republican "machine". North Carolina and Texas would be a case in point. I'm Irsh American. I think the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant hegemony is fading. We'll see where that takes the US.
I'm sure Tik Tok has something to do with the attitudes of young Americans, but also remember that the average American has the opposite of an international outlook. They don't know much, nor do they care all that much until push comes to shove. This combined with the fact that younger Americans on generally know even less about international politics than their elders, means that it takes not much more than warm vibes from a trusted source to push them in a particular direction.
The special relationship was based in two great powers collaborating instead of competing. Still true to a degree for military and intelligence, but economic interests diverged as Britain both shrunk and focused on Europe--an investment which it later discarded. Britain and its politicians need to let go of the zero sum political game of posturing as pro-Europe=anti-US or vice versa for the relationship to increase in significance. Also, many young Americans have only ever interacted with Brits & Euros on social media and experienced them being nasty and hateful towards them due to their nationality, which undermines the ability to even see Britain as an ally
To my mind the UK has had a strong sense of entitlement, by its history, which has fomented in some political parties (guess which) as a Post Imperial Masturbation. In trying to save one political party, putting politics before the country, gave us Brexit (Cameron). As long as we were in the EU we were of strategic interest to the US, but that is now not what it was alongside our political and economic dimishment that has followed. There will always be a tacit, likley shared understanding, on many matters, but, unaligned with ‘special’. This does not effect any cultural aspects of liking or disliking.
All the special relationship is, is the UK being the 51st State of the US. Check out 'The Racket' by Matt Kennard...
There are examples where we've allowed that to become the case, but it is not always true and when managed correctly it's mutually beneficial. For example, our close collaboration on defence and intelligence (the MDA, five eyes, AUKUS, Tier 1 participation in the F-35 etc.) increases our influence and supports British industry, even if we are clearly the very junior partner nowadays
Rather that than our spell as a state in the EU.
@@heycidskyja4668 The difference being that the UK was one of the biggest states in the EU with genuine influence.
@@jonathanphillips5794Naa just another economic vassal of Germany like the rest of the EU 'countries' better to be free with a lighter wallet than a German subject with a bit more money to throw around.
I think it matters much less to the UK than it did.
The US were dismayed when the UK joined China's international bank.
It'll be very interesting to see how the UK and other European countries respond as dedollarisation efforts gather apace, especially if the US reckons they can enjoy the benefits of empire without the costs and withdraw military contributions to NATO.
Special Relationship? I think you meant Vassal State. 😂
I'm not American but if I was I wouldn't care much... I would consider UK borderline irrelevant...
Yeah as a citizen from the UK there is no special relationship
Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc etc possibly but not the USA
One word response to the question raised. AUKUS
The thing with the winter payment is also around energy policy. Ofgem has failed IMO as being a "friend" to the energy companies and not the consumer. Energy is not significantly bought and sold on the basis of wholesale prices in some marketplace - it's within long term contracts that have some form of price variability, and what about transfer pricing for the integrated businesses. So besides GB Energy, what about small projects, especially informing people and perhaps having some form of financing for those in social housing to become less dependent upon the energy companies through solar and other means. There's also a community wind farm on the Isle of Lewis which is benefiting the communities up there rather than the energy companies as well. What are your thoughts.
I was really disappointed to find out that the Eric Adams who was the mayor of New York wasn't the Eric Adams who's the singer in Manowar. We'd live in a much funnier world if it was.
100% agreed. Hail to England etc
Americas current most important relationship is definitely Japan. Australia and Germany are probably the next on the list, although france might replace germany, if the german economy keeps stumbling.
The Irish also have a special relationship with the US and the UK! I do wish Rory would give a guest lecture in University College Dublin
As Brits we should never loose sight of the fact that the "Special Relationship" is primarily established for the benefit of the US. Over my 76 years on this earth, the UK has become increasingly less relevant in the global context. However, for the US one advantage that we have is that we speak American, this makes communication much easier.
You mean the special relationship whereby the US loaned the UK cash during WW2 (after much pressure) and never wrote it off for its closest ally though they went through an economic boom post war and UK had rationing? From memory I think the UK finished paying back the loan in the early 2000's. The UK paid a heavy price fighting the Nazis in both human life & through the blitz, would have been nice if the US might have recognised that their global growth throughout the world post war was in part enabled by our joint defeat of the Nazis.
Then strong-armed into Bush's Iraq 2 war/Afganistan and all the economic & political cost that entailed, again, no financial help from the US, not to mention the loss of life on all sides and the failed outcome.
Yep, a special relationship alright.
A bit of context. British & French rivalry with the new competition Germany was none of our business. America had an isolationist policy. The cost of war was huge to the US. Read up on The Battle of the Atlantic. That was just the cost of supplying the UK and the USSR. Don't forget about the Marshall Plan after the war. The US was the backbone of NATO during the Cold War. Now there are 100k US troops spread out across Europe and two Carrier Strike groups. Our F22s and F35s are monitoring European air space.
To be fair, the WW2 loan may not have been cancelled, but it was given at a very favorable rate.
And Tony Blair was as hawkish for Iraq as anyone. There were countries who said no that the US could've strong armed far easier.
Awww, the thieving crying colonizers who want to complain about being made accountable. Cry some, ridiculous mooching nonsense.
Perhaps, there is a nuanced difference in the perception of meaning of 'the most important strategic relationship'.
Misleading the viewers on the Turkey/EU issue. It was the EU or some of its members who continued to block Turkey's membership, because they did not want a Muslim majority country to be a member of EU. Turkey finally lost patience & decided to go its own way. That is also the time that Erdogan's autocratic tendencies came to the front, as long as membership to the EU was on the cards, the Turkish political system kept things in check, for fear of losing out on EU membership.
It's inevitable that the underlying cause of the 'special relationship' with Britain, that is to say the feeling of kinship, will dwindle over time regardless of all other factors than immigration. When I was growing up in Los Angeles during the 90s, my school district was 70% latino. The children of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants, legal or otherwise, have no sentiment whatsoever for the British isles - and it would be ridiculous to expect it of them.
I think the US and UK are very good allies. But, the term "special relationship", is not really used in the US. That's primarily a UK term.
As an American, I there’s only a few countries that are deemed “special” relationships in the US eyes. I think for every other country they just have a relationship with but it’s not a special relationship. If you takeaway the nato obligations to defend other nato allies, the US only has few countries on the list that they are obligated to defend. In order words the US is not obligated to defend the UK outside of its obligation to nato however the US is obligated to defend these countries no matter what. A few of them would Japan and South Korea. Post WW2 Japan is only allowed to have a self defense force an as a result the US made an obligation to defend them no matter what. As for South Korea, the US has signed an act that also ensure that they will defend them no matter what. This makes sense as the US help contribute into what makes South Korea what is is today; essentially they are the US child. Canada is also on that list as well as Taiwan. Those are what I see as special relationships to the US.
"...(and now meowing)..." PERFECTION!
The 1945 Labour Govt was able to invest because consumption was heavily controlled and there was a relentless focus on exports, productivity and the balance of payments.
The USA does what's best for the USA, it always has. See Suez, Grenada, wasn't really interested in helping during Falklands conflict. To think anything else is British naivety and a bit sad and desperate. The USA does have a special relationship with one country possibly two. Those being Israel and the Republic of Ireland.
Oh I'm sorry did the British Empire need help defending its territory from a fourth-rate power
@@johnbd9765 The British lost any semblance of the power of Empire after the first world war and it was in decline way before then. The fact that they tried to keep up the illusion or delusion of empire is neither here nor there. However Suez was/is a vital strategic asset for the whole of the West. I think as far as the USA was concerned any destabilisation of the region threatened it's significant economic interests in the region especially in terms of oil. The American people at the time and the adminstration purported to be anti colonialist although I suspect a certain selective cognitive dissonance is required there. So as I say the USA was exercising it's droit de seigneur as the super power of the time and everyone else be damned. Fair enough, but it's so called allies should see this. In fact the French and much of Europe has for a long time. And don't bother with yea but USA protects Europe. It's not in the USA's interest to have Russian nukes stationed in the Bay of Biscay. But it is in their interest to have USA nukes stationed in Germany.
@@johnbd9765 Well as the British and French were humiliatingly thrown out of Egypt it rather turns our we did doesn't it? The British lost any semblance of the power of Empire after the first world war. the fact that they tried to maintain the illusion/delusion is neither here nor there. The USA made a calculated decision whether to help or not and decided it was in its own best interests not to help it's allies. Fair enough, it's what super powers do. However it's so called allies should be clear eyed about this and not delude themselves with special relationship nonsense.
@@johnbd9765sorry which country is the only one to use nato article 5?
@@the500mphtortoisewe initiated article 5 to legitimized war America invading a random third world country is never a good look. But America and a bunch of other respected European countries is better. The UK is a vassal state to America and they do what they're told when they are told
Any Brit who maintains the idea that the country has a special relationship with the US had better avert their eyes when an American president visits Ireland.
This really makes no sense. What does Ireland provide for the US that the UK does not? The answer is absolutely nothing. At least the UK is contributing to the fight against Russian expansionism in Europe, something Ireland hasn't lifted a finger to do. They couldn't even be bothered to aid in stopping Hitler's Nazi Germany.
Weekday Ireland will always be more special to the us than the UK is because of such a large Irish American demographic!
Every reason Rory gave for being a Conservative has really nothing to do with being a Conservative.
Conservatives are conservatives because they grow up in a Conservative household, in the same way Christians are Christians when they grow up in a Christian household and racists grow up in a racist household.
I also take issue with his objection about Labour being too close to unions.
Unions influencing government policy are more likely to lift people into the middle class.
We've seen from the last Tory government that capitalists influencing government policy are more likely to start emptying the middle class and growing the working class even for people in middle class jobs like nursing and teaching.
We LOVE the Brits! I hope we follow Britain’s lead on Ukraine. Britain banned Trump, right? (Ireland?) Yay!
I think the better view is whether the UK should have a close relationship with the US. Frankly, the American Empire is collapsing. It's financially bust, morally discredited, and it's ethical and social exports undermine UK values everyday. It's a very difficult call but assigning our UN Security Council vote to sustain carte blanche bad illegal and simply wrong values does nothing for the UK. The US may opt for isolation but in effect it is already there. It has lost Africa, South America, the Middle East and large parts of Asian and Europe. We are tied to the US under the illusion that NATO will provide security but one look at Ukraine and Gaza is clear evidence NATO is no more than an instrument kf US Foreign policy. It is a guarantee of absolutely nothing. The UK must move on and recover its ibdependence.
This British clinging to the "Special Relationship" reeks of a neediness, if I never heard the term again I would be a happy man
As an American, I am shocked and chagrined! mortified and stupified at such blasphemy! We love the UK so much we forget they exist the least! ❤
I’m a dual US-UK citizen. One of the questions was, how do Americans view the UK as an ally?
The Trump voting Americans, roughly half, appreciate the UK relationship as much as the Brexit voting half of the UK appreciate the EU.
There are a lot of people who don’t pay attention to and value international relations and free trade. They consume news and media content that feeds discontent for which isolationism appeals.
In short, with the modern day splintering of media with social media bubbles the western world faces a crisis where the voters have a distorted view as to the reality. The traditional democratic countries alliances are in danger of splintering as these voters will vote for politicians and policies that will dismantle the free trade agreements and undermine our economies.
Doesn't Australia also have a special relationship with the US? Or is that the UK? Or is it both? Probably both. But that raises more questions. How can we have a special relationship with both?
Australia is developing a special relationship with China.
The fact Australia was able to get the E3 visa was pretty special in my opinion.
@@gerardodwyer5908 Australia's special relationship with China is making the US jealous.
Its basically this gag.
ruclips.net/video/eCcl7_CPsvE/видео.html
@@darmou more like a Tripartite special relationship, especially with the Aukus pact.
There are things the UK and the US share that aren't shared between any other nations.
The 'Special Relationship' is unique. It doesn't just mean 'special.'
To get a good idea about the relationship read Vassal State: how America runs Britain
Rosatom the Russian Nuclear power agency are building, and operating Four Nuclear reactors in Akkuyu Turkey comprising Four 1,200 MWe VVER1200 Power station units. It's pretty clear why Turkey wants to join Brics...
For the people who matter the special relationship is incredibly important. Its just that the US is a large country and thus has just that many more ignorant people.
Those in govenment, military, intelligence, and those who study and appreciate foreign policy and diplomacy absolutely understand its the UK when the special relationship is mentioned and also understand how much WE benefitted from it.
The UK took a young bullish diplomatically clumsy US, sat them down at the adults table and said this is how you hold your fork.
As someone under the age of 30, I can assure you most of us dont think a strong relationship with China is important because of Tik Tok. I work in the energy space and China is *at least* half of everything. We'd want to have a strong relationship with a country yielding such power (though of course there are risks).
I am a Brit but hoping that Kamala becomes US President. However, I can’t help wonder if Trump is better known for his ‘special relationships’! Sadly they don’t all go smoothly and some get decidedly ‘stormy’. 😊
It does sound rather childish when you think about it. Like being in school saying we have a “special relationship”.
I think the UK sway in the world is nowhere near what it used to be.
I highly doubt Russia, China, North Korea and a whole lot of other countries really care when we have our politicians warning them about things they’re doing.