Nationalism in Britain

Nationalism in Britain

The state is officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland, but this is clouded in ambiguity – many refer to

‘the UK’ or simply ‘Britain’, while part of the state, England, is

often confused with the whole. The UK is not, strictly speaking, a

nation-state, since it consists of four nations. Some living in the UK

claim a dual national allegiance (e.g. British and Irish) while others

describe themselves as English or British, depending on mood and

circumstances. There are also members of ethnic minorities who are

full citizens of the UK, but whose national identity and allegiance is

doubtful in the eyes of others, and perhaps sometimes to themselves.

England was politically united from the 10th century, with strong

links with Scandinavia until the Norman conquest, and then with France

until the 15th century. From the 16th century n English national

consciousness developed. Wales was politically subject to the English

crown from the 13th century, being formally united with England in

1536; the Welsh had little say in the process of absorption under

English rule. Ireland was more erratically controlled by the English

monarchy from the 12th century, but unlike Britain remained

obstinately Catholic, apart from Ulster which was forcibly settled by

Scottish Protestants from the 17th century. In 1801 it was politically

united with England under an Act of Union.

Scotland existed for several centuries as an independent state with

its own crown, parliament and legal system, and mi...

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...is found on

the fringe, particularly in some northern working class towns and

southern middle class coastal towns. There has been some growth in

recent years, fuelled largely by the issue of asylum seekers and race.

It finds expression in the BNP, a party that has recently registered a

little electoral success in Oldham and Burnley, but which invariably

loses its deposits in parliamentary elections. A vociferous section of

English football fans mix politics and sport, chanting ‘Two World Wars

and One World Cup’ and wrecking cities abroad with some regularity;

there has certainly been a resurgence of white racism. At the more

conventional political level, there seems to be something of a

backlash against devolution, with some demands for the establishment

of an English parliament and for outright withdrawal from the EU.