"We are less confident that we are relevant to America than in the past"

“This is an incredibly valuable strategic partnership that we have with the U.K,” a senior administration official said before the election. Even as he acknowledged U.S. efforts to foster stronger ties elsewhere in Europe and in Asia, the official said the U.S. and Britain “just see the world the same, and the U.K. is engaged and active in a lot of ways that are important to us.”…

Both Cameron and Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader who is the deputy prime minister in the first coalition government in Britain since World War II, have questioned the concept of a special relationship.

During the height of the Iraq war, taking a shot at Blair, Cameron warned that the relationship had become too one-sided. “We have never, until recently, been uncritical allies of America,” he said then. He added, “I worry that we have recently lost the art. I fear that if we continue as at present we may combine the maximum of exposure with the minimum of real influence over decisions. The sooner we rediscover the right balance, the better for Britain and our alliance.”