Would the UK launch from a site in the Commonwealth, a small island somewhere, or its own territory? (Hey, there's a nice spot near a small village in Wales that would be perfect for a Blue Streak launch...*)
* Tip of the hat to whoever gets the in-joke...
Yes, having visited the Village in question, I reckon the launch pad must have been in the car park behind the Dome, Number Six ;-)
During the period in question, Britain actually had one of the best value for money rocket programmes going. It ended up being cancelled in favour of funding Concorde, because the fools in power thought SST would be more commercially viable than satellite launches. I have no doubt that Britain could have had at least a basic manned space programme in the 70s, and quite possibly in the early 60s if the will had been there. "A Vertical Empire" is quite an interesting book, I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested in early space history and the "what ifs" of that period.