Should Britain have swapped pioneering engineering for social welfare?

On a visit to one of the now retired Concorde aircraft, I was struck by how Britian used to be at the for front of aeronautical engineering, but it's all gone now. From the TSR-2 which would have been a years ahead of any other fighter aircraft if it wasn't cancelled. The Harrier, which was nearly cancelled but rescued by the USMC, and of course Concorde (along with the French). It shows the depth of talent and skill Britian once possessed and seems to have lost.

I guess Britian is still part of pioneering aeronautical engineering, producing parts for Airbus and the Typhoon, but it can no longer go it alone to produce truly outstanding and original aircraft, the costs are too great. Priority goes to the NHS and the welfare state. Not to mention red tape holding everything back. The Concorde that I visited has a broken window in the cockpit, there is a replacement waiting to be fitted. However to fit the glass the nose must be lowered, which means pressurising the hydraulic system of the aircraft and operating it. So the health and Safety exec said no, it's too dangerous, so the glass has not been replaced for 5 years whilst a solution is figured out. The nation that co designed the most remarkable passenger aircraft ever, that neither the Soviets nor the US could replicate, can no longer get it together to replace a single pane of glass.

Sad really, but it's still better to have an NHS than amazing aircraft....I guess.

People don't even try anymore.