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Commentary
The Wall Street Journal

Britain’s Decline from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak

Its domestic politics aside, England has never been more formidable.

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walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
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Caption
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth in Lusaka, Zambia, on August 1, 1979. (Getty Images)

London

Queen Elizabeth II’s first prime minister was Winston Churchill. Her last was Liz Truss. This isn’t what most people call progress.

The serial implosions of four Tory prime ministers—David Cameron, Theresa May,  and Ms. Truss—made a laughingstock of what was once the most successful political party in the Western world. The Labour Party, for its part has, thankfully, freed itself from the shackles of Corbynism, but after 12 years in the wilderness its capacity for government remains open to doubt. Untested in office and divided by Brexit, Labour is better placed to win the next general election than to provide coherent leadership in difficult times.