The 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence comes at a moment when Anglo-American relations are buffeted by competing visions of global order. It’s a reminder that what today we call the ‘Special Relationship’ wasn’t always so smooth and took more than a century to develop. At each stage of the process – from rebellion, through

This proud and boisterous occasion is undeniably tinged with both division and doubt

That assertion may come as a surprise to people in the United States ahead of its 250th anniversary