The last time we had today's guest on, we enjoyed a really great conversation about what was

even then a hugely important topic, which is America's increasing power, control,

domination of the UK, whether that's the economy,

the cultural industries or even our public services. Britain is a vassal state of the US.

Has been for a while and it's only getting worse. That was relevant a year ago. It's even more

relevant today, particularly, of course,

with the Trump White House. Trump being an overtly imperialist president, and that's nowhere

more the case than in America's relations with Europe. I don't think Britain's exempt from

those. Maybe you disagree. Today's guest certainly does not.

There is clearly a marked effort at a more intense, hostile, geopolitically calculative approach to the countries of Europe by America,

meaning that the conversation we had a year ago was prescient to say the least,

which makes me ask the question, which will inform the next hour and a bit.

Is it time that Britain ended its abusive relationship with America?

Do we need to dump our toxic partner, the United States? To discuss

all of that, I can think of nobody better than Angus Hanson. Angus, welcome to downstream.

Thank you. Your last interview with us was a sleeper hit. I think it's got something like

300,000 plus few years. I wasn't expecting

that, although I did think your book, which I will again big up in Howard Bank, Vassal State,

was one of the best books of last year. Thank you. How did you find the reception of it?

Because I did see it being mentioned in quite a few other places, I think the telegraph, etc. Did that surprise you?

Well, I was pleased that it got very good reviews on both sides in the telegraph and the Guardian,

both sides of political divide. But then I thought it would reach the fate of almost all books,

...