Colin D Gordon

At the end of March, Landrover changed its nationality. Again. First produced in 1948, it remained British for 46 years. BMW (Germany) took it over in 1994 and then sold it to Ford (USA) in 2000. It has just been acquired by the Tata Group (India) for £1.15 billion. A recent UK Treasury report estimated that over 50% of British companies are now foreign – owned. If you live in London, your electricity will be French (EDF). Thames Water is mainly Australian. In 2006, Grupo Ferrovial (Spain) paid over £10 billion for the British Airports Authority (BAA) and so became responsible for Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and the four main airports in Scotland. Critics comment that Ferrovial seem more interested ( because of their bank debts ) in how much passengers are spending in the airport shops than whether the planes take off and land on time. They’ve also been blamed for the chaotic first two weeks at the new Terminal 5. If you decide instead to travel to France by sea, you’ll probably have to take a P&O Ferry – proprietors, Dubai Ports World (United Arab Emirates). Abbey National (the UK’s sixth largest bank) belongs to Banco Santander (Spain). Most Premiership football clubs are of course these days run by overseas ‘oligarchs’ and billionaires.

Many people here consider all this a normal & acceptable consequence of globalisation. Some, though, fret that the British have virtually lost control of their own country – including even the ritual consolation of having ‘a nice cup of tea’. In the soap operas ‘East Enders’ and ‘Coronation Street’, this is still portrayed as the traditional solution to moments of crisis and stress. Statistics show, however, that the British are drinking less tea than ten years ago – but still an average of 3.5 cups per day compared to one per day in the USA. According to ‘Datamonitor’, the annual sales of ‘normal teabags’ in the UK have decreased from 127 to 114 million kilograms and been replaced by herbal & fruit alternatives ( such as green or peppermint). The same report indicates a global decline in the demand for instant tea and coffee. Turkey (despite its image as a coffee country) now consumes more tea than the UK. The Danish are the world’s leading coffee drinkers (7.5 kilos per capita p.a) followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden.

Two companies dominate the Brtish tea market. PG Tips , manufactured by Unilever (Anglo-Dutch), claim sales of 35 million cups per day. Their main rivals are Tetley Tea – a subsidiary of Tata Tea Limited, part of the same multinational conglomerate that has bought Landrover, Jaguar & Corus ( formerly British Steel) and has operations in 85 countries. The British East India Company ruled the sub – continent for 100 years. Now Indian entrepreneurs are buying up British businesses. Lakshmi Mittal is the world’s wealthiest steel baron. Vijay Mallya, the airlines & breweries magnate, owns Whyte & Mackay (the Scottish whisky distiller). This phenomenon has been described as ‘The Raj(Empire) in Reverse’. Even England’s top cricketers are being tempted to play in the Indian Premier Cricket League. That’s where the money is. Bowler hats have almost disappeared from the UK scene ( far more are worn in Bolivia than by City of London gentlemen). Tea, however, continues to be a symbol of Britishness. In ‘polite society’, tea etiquette also survives. The tea bags or powder go first into the tea-pot to brew. The milk should go into the cup(s) before you pour the tea. Don’t clink your spoon when stirring. And never, ever dunk your biscuits.

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