Mark Andrews: Humiliation in Afghanistan and why university doesn't automatically make you bright

The debacle in Afghanistan is the dreadful consequence of decades of penny-pinching on defence. In 1955, Britain spent seven per cent of GDP on the military, today it is barely two per cent. And then only with the help of some imaginative accounting.

Whether Britain was right to go into Afghanistan is almost beside the point. This week has shown all our enemies that we haven't the clout to do anything without the support of a weak and utterly useless American president.

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This is the legacy of successive governments, not least that of Tony Blair, who strutted the world stage 'standing shoulder-to-shoulder with America' while hacking our forces to the bone.

Today we spend more on interest payments servicing the considerable national debt – another gift from Tony – than we do defending our realm.

But let's not forget Theresa May, so swift to sneer about 'global Britain' this week, who did nothing to reverse this trend either.

In three weeks Last Night of the Proms will include a rousing rendition of how "Britannia rules the waves." But only if Uncle Sam can be bothered to help, it seems.

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There are two possible solutions to the problem of exam grade inflation, which has seen nearly half of all sixth formers come away with A or A* grades.

One would be to make 'A' the new pass mark, and add a series of extra star ratings, a bit like they have for hotels. Brainy pupils would get an A*****, average ones a bog-standard A*, and Benny from Crossroads gets a B for effort.

Alternatively, the Government could scrap the ridiculous quango Ofqual and hand responsibility back to independent exam boards made up of employer and university representatives. A bit like it was in the 1980s, before the politicians started meddling.

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This would only work if universities were reformed to focus on academic excellence rather than all this 'inclusivity' nonsense. That includes Hull University, which recently declared spelling, punctuation and grammar to be 'elitist'.

Universities should be elitist, otherwise what is the point? Next time I find myself in the operating theatre, I won't care about the background of the man wielding the scalpel, or what difficulties he overcame as a child. But it would be heartening to know he is clever enough to use the knife properly.

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If you want proof universities are dumbing down, look at 21-year-old Loughborough University student Miles Routledge.

While most of us have gone without foreign holidays this year – apart from Dominic Raab, obviously – Miles decided to top up his tan in Afghanistan.

He has apparently been rescued by the British Army, probably taking the place of somebody who actually deserved to be saved. He says he has no regrets.

No Miles, but we do.