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There is a golden thread which runs through British history, of the individual standing firm against tyranny and then of the individual participating in their society. It is a thread that runs from that long-ago day in Runnymede in 1215, on to the Bill of Rights in 1689 to not just one, but four great Reform Acts within less than a hundred years.
Gordon Brown, Hugo Young Memorial Lecture (2005)
'Come on', he said. 'It's not a trick question. Just name me one thing he did that Washington wouldn't have approved of. Let's think.' He held up his thumb. One: deployment of British troops to the Middle East, against the advice of just about every senior commander in our armed forces and all of our ambassadors who know the region. Two' - up went his right index finger - 'complete failure to demand any kind of quid pro quo from the White House in terms of reconstruction contracts for British firms, or anything else. Three: unwavering support for US foreign policy in the Middle East, even when it's patently crazy for us to set ourselves against the entire Arab world.'
Robert Harris, The Ghost (2007)
Gordon Brown has for the last few years aspired to construct and articulate a progressive sense of Britishness, ranging from attempts to define its key values, to proposals for a 'National Day' and 'Veterans' Day'. This article aims to assess this project - if this word can be used - examining the historical background before analysing the contemporary context and future prospects. In so doing it should be seen as complimentary to an earlier Renewal essay on Blair and Britishness (Hassan, 1995).
The Labour story of Britain
Gaitskell once pledged to defend "1,000 years of history'; Brown has talked of '2,000 years' that shaped 'a characteristically British set of qualities' (Brown, 1997). The reality is rather more complex.
The UK is not an ordinary state; but a hybrid bringing together four nations (1). Its founding dates from the 1603 Union of the Crowns and 1707 Treaty of Union between Scotland and England. The name of the space we now live in - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - dates from 1922 and the current governmental framework...