I have a lot of friends in the UK, and my perception 15 years ago was that it was a country in decline. There was a general feeling of malaise, with not many hopeful for the future.
2008 was probably not the best time to ask that question - and it's probably not the best time to ask it now either. (Unless you want a negative, doom-laden answer, in which case you got lucky both times!)
Has only gotten worse, it seems.