British is best! Britain is the best country in the World! 

Sadly, thanks to two World wars, numerous dodgy conflicts and insipid Government those statements are no longer true. Once upon a time we were disliked but feared, as was true of most Imperialistic States. The British lion roared and people sat up and took notice, today we are lucky if the sad old lion manages a whimper.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not nostalgic for the old days of Empire but, as someone who is immensely proud to be British, I do despair at the present state of our nation. When did the 'rot' set in, when did Britain stop being Great? More important than that, when did we, the British people, stop caring?

We haven't got enough roads and even the one's we do have are pitted with potholes. The railway system is a joke and instead of trying to get it sorted out our esteemed leaders seem to think that a new high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham will solve the problem! As much as I admired Margaret Thatcher I have to admit that even she was complicit in the downfall of the UK. In my opinion, though she got a lot of things right she allowed bitterness to rule where foresight was needed. In curbing the Unions she actually destroyed British industry and put her faith in the Financial Sector. All very well but, as we have all found to our cost, the financiers proved to be ten times worse than the Union Barons ever were.

The other half of the equation was the ruinous thirteen years of New Labour. Whatever good came from the Thatcher and John Major years, New Labour destroyed. They destroyed it by  feckless spending of the reserves built up by the previous Conservative administrations, embroiling the country in foreign wars based on lies and false statement. They destroyed it by taking the UK deeper into the EU with little reward for our financial input and borrowing on a scale more akin to a Third World Dictatorship. They too relied heavily upon the City to bankroll them out of trouble but found that it was they who had to bankroll the City using taxpayers money. To make matters worse, as I alluded to earlier, there was no British industry or infrastructure left to fall back on.

So, where do we go from here? The first thing that we need to do is to, "get over it!" We are no longer a World leader, we are no longer a major military force and we no longer have an Empire. Having said that, we should also stop apologising for having said Empire. We tend to dwell on the past too much in this country instead of looking to the future. We are also not very good at recognising the home-grown talent that we have. We have let technologies, designed and tested in this country, slip through our fingers. Usually through short-sighted Government Officials who look to their Departmental budgets rather than taking a chance on innovation. I have often wondered why someone has not had the foresight to set up an ophthalmology clinic in the Palace of Westminster as they would never be short of custom.

Austerity measures implemented by the likes of George Osbourne and more recently the equally short-sighted Jeremy Hunt have further hampered innovation, entrepreneurship and the ability of business to kick-start the economy. As for the military, it has been pared down to such a degree that pretty soon the Territorial Force will outnumber the Regular Force. It is a ridiculous position to be in, we have been fighting in conflicts on foreign soil which are un-winnable and paid for on credit when the National Debt is already in the £trillions! Thank goodness we no longer do have an Empire, that would surely have bankrupt us! Cuts to Welfare, cuts to the Armed Forces, Cuts to the NHS (ring-fenced?), cuts to the Police, Cuts to the Emergency Services, cuts to Air-Sea rescue, cuts to salaries, cuts to pensions, everywhere a cut-cut! Increased funding for foreign aid, increased salaries for politicians, still funding the EU. It is crazy, ill-thought out and crazy!

Nigel Farage was always telling us that, unlike he, non of the present political leaders have ever had a proper job. Doesn't it show? How can anyone who has never held a job run a business as big as The United Kingdom plc? It beggars belief, more so because we, the General Public, let them get away with it.

I heard a chinless Tory saying on TV the other day that people are losing faith in the Conservative Party because they have failed to get the message across. The message being that they have more policies than SSM, foreign aid or arguing for the UK to have close ties the EU.

The truth is, it really doesn't matter because all three "Main Parties" are giving out the same messages, albeit in differing word format. We need change and if, as I hope, people rally to the side of those campaigning for the UK to completely break from the EU that is precisely what we will get. No more lies, no more false promises, no more EU, no more cuts for cuts sake; just a new beginning which will see this country rise in the World rankings once again.

I doubt if Britain will ever be truly "Great"  again but we can reach a stage whereby we can stand tall and be proud to be British.

Having read thus far, please don't come to the conclusion that I am knocking Britain because I am not. I served in the Armed Forces and fought for my country, I'm immensely proud to be British and Britain will always be "Great" in my eyes. However, I am concerned for the future and unless we as a Nation accept that we need radical change in order to keep our Sovereignty I see Britain being left behind.  The Tories have ruined the fishing industry and destroyed whole communities and once thriving towns in the process. Likewise the UK farming industry which is still beset with EU rules and regulations because the useless Government has not got around to getting rid of them.

There are a myriad of areas that need ‘Radical Change’ including this Party which I love. The UK Independence Party has strong leadership, strong sensible policies but a weak following. We need influencers who can entice big business to support us, we need expertise in marketing, people who will shed the right wing shackles of the old UKIP and shine a new light on this new brand of centre right politics. In order to make the UK great we first need to make the UK Independence Party great. This way we can build the membership and be in a better position to give the people of this great country the change for the better that they really deserve.

Phil Bottomley

UK Independence Party - Member & Activist