Even a few short years ago, the prospect of Britain appearing irrelevant on the global stage would have been unthinkable.
But as Keir Starmer drifted aimlessly around the Gulf this week, it was painfully clear that our great nation is now little more than a bit player in the geopolitical arena.
The war on Iran has put a sharp focus on Sir Keir’s inglorious role in consigning Britain to the margins.
His dithering response at the outbreak of hostilities won him no admirers – and has not gone unnoticed in the friendly Middle Eastern states he visited in recent days.
Yet whether by accident or design, the Prime Minister was downgrading our international standing long before the conflict started.
Nowhere is his disastrous record more apparent than in the shameful neglect of our Armed Forces.
Despite being repeatedly warned of the need to reverse low levels of defence spending under successive governments, Sir Keir’s response has amounted to little more than staggering indifference.
Thanks to his lack of interest, our vastly diminished military strength has resulted in humiliation in front of the world over the past six weeks.
Keir Starmer (pictured) undertook Gulf tour aimed at bolstering the ceasefire in the Middle East war
It was ten days into the Iran war before HMS Dragon – the only Royal Navy destroyer deployed to date – set sail for the eastern Mediterranean on a mission to protect British airbases in Cyprus.
Yet, in an embarrassing development revealed in the Daily Mail earlier this week, it had to be docked at an undisclosed location to undergo repairs.
That isn’t even the worst of it. Would a PM with even a smidgen of respect for either the office he holds or the nation have allowed a situation where the Navy was reduced to asking Germany for the loan of a warship?
Yet that happened only last month.
Our depleted defences are also increasingly a cause for concern on the domestic front. It now seems to be almost routine practice for Russia to send spy submarines and sanctioned oil tankers into British waters.
Yet despite much huffing and puffing from Starmer and his Defence Secretary John Healey, there is no sign that the threat of dire consequences is causing Vladimir Putin any sleepless nights.
Nor is it just in the military sphere that Britain is finding itself left behind. With the rapid expansion of the AI sector, there are untold opportunities for bright and talented youngsters to get involved in a genuine global revolution that will transform everyone’s lives in the years ahead.
But British graduates and school-leavers risk missing out on those opportunities due to energy costs and red tape linked to the Labour administration’s demented pursuit of Net Zero.
Mr Starmer (left) arrives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday as part of a two-day visit to the Gulf region
As industry giant OpenAI halted its Stargate UK project this week, Tory business spokesman Andrew Griffith remarked: ‘Ed Miliband’s suicidal policy has just cost us another huge investment.’
Of course, the history books show that Britain is no stranger to standing alone. When we squared up to the evils of the Nazi empire in the early days of World War Two, it was under the stewardship of brave and principled leaders.
Then we were alone but with a singular determination and purpose.
Today we are alone, lost in a sea of dither and delay under a Prime Minister whose defining characteristic is his lack of belief in anything at all.