Britain has always been a poor country. But some people were extremely rich, thus skewing the image that visitors saw. And most of that wealth was exploited fr

Britain has always been a poor country. But some people were extremely rich, thus skewing the image that visitors saw. And most of that wealth was exploited from outside the country, from the 'Empire'. After the 1940s, that external wealth withered away, leaving nowt but a shrivelled husk.