often seen in the street without a hat

Yeah I would concur with what other peeps are saying. Now you've got me wondering how appropriate it is - can a nation be "limited liability"? Could shareholders in it lose more than their original stake? I suppose so, but it depends on how you define a shareholder. If it's merely an aggregate of all shareholders then fair enough. But I tend to think of it as describing Britain being run as a business, so it would include public spending and revenue as well...