Is the UK the fifty-first state of the US?
A "fifty-first state" is country over which the US has so much influence that it might as well be another state of the US.
Examples of the UK acting like a fifty-first state
- 1986 the UK allows the US to us British airbases to bomb Lybia
- 2001 the UK invades Afganistan in collaboration with the US
- 2003 the UK invades Iraq in collaboration with the US
Reasons why the UK is subservient to the US
Trident Missiles
The UK government places great national prestige in possesing a fleet of nuclear powered submarines equipped with ballistic missiles with multiple nuclear warheads. This makes the UK one of only five countries in the elite club. The UK has the technical ability to build its own nuclear powered submarines albeit it at very great expense. The UK also has the technical ability to build nuclear warheads. What it lacks is the technical ability to build ballistic missiles. This makes the UK entirely dependent on buying the Trident ballistic missile from the US. No other country sells ballistic missiles.
F35 Lightning II B
The UK governemnt has committed itself to building two large Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. These carriers are designed without the tradional catapaults and arrester wires. This restricts the planes it can launch to short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) versions. The UK can not afford the cost of developing suh an aircraft for use on only two carriers. So few countries use aircraft carriers that the only option for a modern STOVL is to buy the F35 Lightning II B from the US.
Mass surveillance
The UK government's GCHQ collaborates closely withe the US's NSA in elligal mass surveillance of both their own populations and those of other countries.
Consequences of ending cooperation with the US
If the UK were to end its "special relationship" with the US, it would not have the lastest ballistic missiles for its new generation of ballistic submarines, no aircraft for its new carriers and greatly reduced mass surveillance outside of the Uk.