UK is the 12th largest global manufacturer
given our size, we still have a fair amount of clout
also UK has one of the most powerful global financial centres
we have the worlds top ranking universities
we are considered to be a global leader in science and technology
the problems in this country are heavily caused by flogging everything to private equity / sovereign wealth funds
I actually meant the West as a whole.
We no longer seem to be able to make the generational gains that we have come to expect, and so much has been borrowed from future generations.

