Britons, though they never will be slaves, nevertheless face increasing dependence on the U.S. The New Statesman's Poet Laureate Sagittarius (real name: Olga Katzin) wrote last week:
When Britain started to sweep the seas She took the ocean for her demesne,
She planted her prosperous Colonies, A very respectable Virgin Queen,
And raided the Western Hemisphere .
As a very respectable privateer. . . .
Britannia in the Imperial role Increased in splendour and waxed in girth,
Her island sceptre assumed control Of a large proportion of all the earth,
And through the ages she made her mark
As a very respectable matriarch.
Whenever a cause of war was just Britannia buckled her breastplate on,
She earned her Allies' respect and trust As a very respectable Amazon,
And in times of peace achieved success
As a very respectable governess.
Today Britannia, though still as great, For freedom forfeited all her gain,
And much reduced from the former state Of her long, pacific and glorious reign,
May have to toil, till the pound's at par,
As a very respectable working char.
Britannia now at the crossroads stands. Shall she pinch and scrape on a widow's
mite, Or rank with other impoverished lands
As a very respectable satellite? Shall she choose the hard or the easier route As a very respectable prostitute?