The Politics of Nationalism and Devolution

I have begun reading what is possibly the dullest book ever written: The Politics of Nationalism and Devolution (1980) by H.M.Drucker and Gordon Brown.

However, although dull the book does provide an insight into the workings of our prime minister's mind: It is almost entirely about Scotland and Wales; it never considers Northern Ireland, in fact the province is mentioned just four times (and only in passing) throughout the entire book; and England is never really given any consideration as a nation unto itself.

The first chapter "The Distinctiveness of Scotland and Wales" sets the tone:

Britain has always been a multi-national state in which national identities have survived. The development of political parties and loyalties around the differing British nationalities has always been possible. Cultural and religious traditions have given Scottish and Welsh life, in particular, a different and distinctive character, and recently it has become clear that there is an economic imbalance between Scotland and Wales and the rest of Britain.

The 'rest of Britain'. Is that code for England? Quite possibly it is, because at the end of the chapter Brown turns his attention to the strategies of the SNP and Plaid Cymru:

In their attempts to turn the national consciousness of their people into electoral assets, each is much concerned with the differences between the interests of its people and those of England.

Brown informs us that although Scotland and Wales are distinctive and different, they are not homogeneous nations. In fact he describes Scotland as "two nations", but goes on to say:

The strength of Scottish and Welsh identity has, however, rarely been doubted - even if it is exhibited to the outside world most often on the football and rugby fields. The Kilbrandon Commission on the Constitution of 1968-73 accepted Scottish and Welsh nationhood as a fact and their survey of national opinion confirmed that Scots and Welsh people tended to think of themselves as Scottish and Welsh first. The Commission concluded:

Our terms of reference refer to the several countries, nations and regions of the United Kingdom and thus appear to accept the claims to separate national identity made on behalf of the Scottish and Welsh peoples. The many discussions we have had with the Scots and Welsh have given ample evidence of the existence of this sense of nationhood often strongly felt even by those who have no desire to see such change in the existing arrangements for the government of Scotland and Wales and who are proud also of their British nationality.

For Brown it's not homogeneity that is important but rather the strength of feeling of national identity and distinctiveness from the rest of Britain. Presumably then it is on the grounds of national identity, rather than as a homogeneous cultural unit, that he supported a parliament for Scotland. It would be fascinating therefore to know whether Brown regards English nationhood as fact or whether he doubts the strength of English national identity. It would seem fairly obvious that the small size of Scotland and Wales relative to 'the rest of Britain' would foster a greater feeling of distinctness relative to the whole than is apparent in England. But logically if Scotland and Wales are distinct from each other and 'the rest of Britain', then England too must be distinct, even if England's size has traditionally made our identification with Britain - on both political and cultural levels - less problematic, and given us less need to define ourselves in opposition to the other nations of Britain.

In January 2008 the Government commissioned a survey to determine where national loyalties lie. The results showed that the English do feel a sense of belonging to England, and that the English identified with Britain to a lesser extent than the Welsh.

• 82% in England felt a strong sense of belonging to England
• 81% in England felt a strong sense of belonging to Britain
• 95% in Wales felt a strong sense of belonging to Wales
• 87% in Wales felt a strong sense of belonging to Britain

If self-identification with nation and distinctiveness from the rest of Britain (rather than homogeneity) are the measures by which we gauge national identity then presumably England is a nation. If people could not distinguish between England and Britain, if there was no distinction, then they would not identify with England.

But does Gordon Brown consider England to be a nation? This is a question that David poses over at Our Kingdom - England: Nation or not?:

In my view, it’s time the government were forced to come clean on this issue and state, one way or another, whether it views England as a nation or not (as I think is the case).

I'd encourage you to sign David's petition to see if we can't get an answer out of Gordon on this most important of questions.

As for me, I'm still waiting for Gordon to reply to the "Say England" petition five months after it closed, which I hope is testament to the difficulty that he has in answering that question. I think David's petition is complementary to my own "Say England" petition in that it demands explicit recognition of the nation of England by government. As does Steve Garrett's "Ministry Jobs" petition.

The immediate task for English nationalists is to make the Establishment acknowledge England as an entity unto itself, with English national identity distinct from British identity, not merely the same as. From that position we can begin negotiating on how government can better serve England, and how democracy can be tailored to represent the entity that is England. We the English people, we the English, demand better than government for "we the British".