This passage was interesting:

British hypocrisy is not real hypocrisy, because its first condition is that it shall not deceive. In English public life it is is a point of honor, when once the truth is so apparent that there can be no possible deception, to get up and lie about it. A man who tells the truth unnecessarily is not considered a gentleman. A man who tells a lie that is believed is considered a liar. The perfect gentleman does not give pain to his audience. He says what they like to hear. He proclaims the thing that ought to be, the nice thing, the good-natured thing. And that is never the thing that is. As nobody is taken in except the people who want to be taken in, nobody objects. Very often that is the condition of the entire audience, representing therein the entire nation.

Can any British readers please reply in the comments as to whether this descriptions still describes England in 2016?

George Bernard Shaw On Anglo-American Relations: Famous Writer Discusses Attitude of Great Britain Toward United States with His Customary Frankness and Brilliancy

From October 22, 1916