After Afghanistan, Britain can no longer pretend to punch above its weight | Polly Toynbee

Our global reputation is in tatters. The UK needs soft power more than ever, yet everywhere the Tories are trashing it

After humiliation, here ends hubris and surely the global Britain" delusion. No more fatuous boasting, no more world-beating" and world-leading", but time for an honest audit of who we are, what we can do, and what we plainly can't.

Holed below the waterline, Britain has done itself incalculable reputational damage in recent years. Rescuing Afghan dogs and cats may stand as a global emblem of barking mad Britain. John Casson, a recent ambassador to Egypt, sorrowfully tweets his lifetime Foreign Office goals: leading in the EU; freeing young Arabs from authoritarians; being impactful not transactional in development; and leaving Afghanistan in good shape. All these have failed.