Article(print) World Affairs Online2010

Englishness, Britishness and the future of the United Kingdom

In: Nations and nationalism: journal of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism, Volume 16, Issue 3, p. 469-487

Kumar, Krishan

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Abstract

The current interest in Englishness and English national identity, spurred partly by parliamentary devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, has been accompanied by calls for an English parliament and even the promotion of a robust English nationalism. This article argues that this is a mistaken direction for the English. English traditions habe been non-national and even supra-national. English identities have been especially bound up with Britain and Britishness. An England without Britain is hard to conceive, and would be impolitic to pursue. Survey evidence shows continuing Britishness among the English, with scant support for an English parliament or English independence. The expressions of English nationalism remain relatively muted. 'England for the English' is neither a realistic nor a sensible strategy. (Nations and Nationalism)

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