How two votes could diminish Britain’s role in the world forever (+video)

Britain-political-map

The UK is set for a major shift in its place in the world, as Scots vote on independence this fall and PM David Cameron looks to hold a referendum in 2017 on leaving the EU.

LONDON – By Sara Miller Llana, Staff writer / May 15, 2014 Christian Science Monitor

When the Cutty Sark regularly plied the oceans of the world in the 19th century, no one doubted where Britain was moving. The tea clipper was just a single part of the massive political and economic might of the forward-looking British Empire.

Today, the Cutty Sark now sits on display on the banks of the Thames in Greenwich. Keith Merritt stands admiring the ship, where he chose to bring his six-year-old grandson on his first visit to London to see “all the good bits of where we were.” But the engineer can’t help but lament that Britain in 2014 is not gazing outward, but increasingly inward, thinking smaller instead of big.

Within three years, Britain faces two major tests that could radically diminish its size in the world, both literally and figuratively.  [read more]