The Brits are basking in the glow of their latest Olympics medal bonanza, and even humble John Major, once written off as being more suited to running Lambeth town council than a western democracy, has been re-evaluated as one of the finest post-war British prime ministers.
Heather Wheeler, Colonel Blimp-ish Tory MP for South Derbyshire and ardent Brexiteer, got a little carried away this afternoon, and somewhat unwisely decided to tweet out these stats compiled by the right-wing UK politico site, Guido Fawkes.
Not only did the UK finish a dizzyingly high 2nd in the medal table, the tweet tells us that an entity called the British Empire won significantly more medals than the miserable, servile little post-Brexit EU and more medals than 'the rest of the world.
Truly, the sun never sets on its medal haul.
Now that's what I call winning!!! Well done Team GB & all our Commonwealth friends, now for the Trade Agreements.... pic.twitter.com/Qg9qkYxWHp
— Heather Wheeler MP (@HeatherWheeler) August 22, 2016
We were curious to know whether Ireland's haul of two silver medals had been included in the British Empire tally, given our past history as both a recalcitrant member of that grouping and an energetic helper in the cause of its expansion.
But clearly, we have also to be included in the no doubt pathetic post-Brexit EU rump. We'll try to calculate and get back to you.
