A report today recommends that schools in England should teach “core British values” in our diverse, multi-cultural society, I wonder exactly what this means. What is Britishness today?
If we went to a school and asked the kids for their views on this, what would they say? They may refer to the queen, perhaps even parliament, in other words, our traditional heritage.
Yet today’s young British people prefer chicken tikka to roast beef. What British traditions do they still follow?
David Blunkett went down this path in 2002, and here are some views on Britishness which were reported then:
Sophie Dahl: “Earl Grey and John Galliano”
Elton John: “Sense of humour”
Andrew Motion: “Beer on tap”
Norman Cook: “Most people speak your language when you go abroad”
Denise Lewis: “Gin and tonic”
This government has itself to blame for the loss of many of our much loved British traditions, like school nativity plays, as well as encouraging kids to enjoy conkers and participating in school races, to have fun and learn fair play, that life is not always about winning.
We need our school curriculum to applaud our British heroes through history and literature lessons so young people can feel proud of their heritage. But what about today’s Britain, what are the key British values that schools should be teaching? What does Britishness mean to you today?
Update: The BBC is asking the same question. I had hoped to use some nice pics of British flags on this post, but unfortunately, the template is not behaving itself today.
Update: 26 Jan, The Times and Britishness.
Labour’s mantra has been to “celebrate diversity” for the last ten years so why are they now focusing on Britishness?
Who do they expect to fool this time!?!
‘- A commitment to freedom to do what you so choose so long as it is not illegal
– Representation of your person in Parliament
– An understanding of our great history as an island nation and central creators of the modern world
– that our outward self-depreciation hides our inner spirit and pride in ourselves.
However, I think as usual Labour misses the point. They hate our history and culture and wish to destroy and deny it. They want to control our lives more closley than at any time in history and also wish to grant powers over us to Europe whom we cannot vote for in a meaningful way.
Instead they use rubbish phrases drawn from the failed multi-cultural experiment, such as ‘toleration’ and ‘inclusiveness.’
The class envy basis of socialism means they are inherently unable to accept our historical cutlure; so this new fad of their’s is as doomed to fail as all the rest of them.
I think we need to be careful when looking at “historical” culture – as the Victorians were responsible for a lot of propaganda which is now taken as a “truth” of Britishness. Indeed, “representation in parliament” was a great tactic to prevent actual engagement of ordinary people in politics and every extension of the franchise was resisted by the political elite.
We need to remember and reflect that our history is more than just the stories of the “traditional” heroes. The recent focus on tracing family trees has shown that Brits come from varied and fascinating backgrounds – with many thousands of interesting histories. Together these are what makes us British – or is it socialist to celebrate those who fought to stop child labour, banned the right of husbands to beat their wives or allow equality on the buses?
Our history is much more than what is selectively written and retold to us by any politician.
We are not British
Britain means little beyond a Geographical expression. There is a shared Language but so is there with Ireland ( Eire ) a country who actively assisted the Nazis in the second world war and mourned the death of Hitler on the basis ?�My enemies enemy is my friend� Cu`s cultural strands are in fact English.. Talk of British ness in schools and elsewhere is inspired by the panic in Nu Lab ranks and especially that mouth breathing lizard Broon that the Union is splitting. This would be the end of any possibility of a Labour Government. Their cynical , adoption of the Union Jack is almost beyond Parody . It was they that encouraged the unsustainable devolutionary non settlement and although the Conservatives acquiesced, there was a revolt of half of the Party on an amendment to make the referendum apply to the whole of Britain. The many Scots living in Britain, by the way , who the lying Scotsman says provide evidence of our deep entwinement were not asked if they wanted to devolve. This is was because with them a majority would not have been forthcoming and Labour`s electoral wish to spike the SNP would have been frustrated. They were not to know were they that despite suckling the pictish hord on the teat of the Barnett Formula and giving them democratic rights over this country as well as there own the Scots would still resolutely persist in their wish to be a country.
After years of Salmonella Salmons poison spitting , mostly along the lines of “Its our Oil� it is not surprising that the English have had enough. What Labour could not tell is what we could have told them. Handing out benefits does not make people happy it makes them morally sick and tired of living ,the levels of AIDS , malnutrition..(for god`s sake ),and premature death in Parts of Scotland are sub third world with work rates across large areas something like one in six. What a bitter laugh it was when the age for receiving a pension was raised (not the public sector) and they discovered that the average Glaswegian would not be around to collect it.
In short Britain means what it has always meant. Political and , in the past,, military reality which , after the empire has little further use for either of the partners . The Majority of the English and the Scots no longer want the arrangement and this will change domestic politics for ever .The rumour is that before he lets that happen Broon will run a wrecking ball through our democracy by offering the Lib Dums Proportional representation.( See Michael Portillo in the Times). If he tries it , it will provoke a full scale constitutional crisis in that Blair lied about the length of his tenure as he lied about everything else.
Britain is a dog eared treaty with a foreign country used to defraud the English of electoral and fiscal rights for the purposes of Labour Gerrymandering. And that’s all it is .
How typical that Labour present this new piece of skullduggery as a realistaion that multi culturalism doesn`t work ? Multi cuclturalism has something to be said for it in that it means Tolerance.Sickening
Ellee I often get worried by talk of Britishness just because I can’t seem to get my head around what it means for my own subject- history. I know that schools are increasingly sending up to universities people who have studied things like the history of democracy down the ages- without recognising its changed a lot and I would have thought the problem with British history would be the same thing. Perhaps this is a time where the needs of the nation state conflict with the needs of the proffessional historian?
Heather, I agree with you about selective memories. It is easy to overlook the faultsof a person and glorify them once they have died.
It is bizarre that having fully embraced multi culturalism, which I also enjoy, we have lost the core of our Britishness, many traditional aspects of Britishness, in order not to offend these cultures, who may well have enjoyed them given the chance.
Newmania, do not despair so, why not give the government a chance to prove themselves on this issue!
City Unslicker – Love it and you need to add “confident, self-reliant and detrermined.”
Newmania – a bit too cynical for me.
Heather Green Banana – So what’s wrong with being selective.
Gracchi – watch your spelling.
Cityunslicker, I agree with your points too, particularly about having an inner spirit and pride.
Jeremy, I don’t mind spelling mistakes, you don’t have to have perfect spellings for a blog.
why not give the government a chance to prove themselves on this issue! ….
You mean the Labour Government under Brown ? They have proved themselves. This has been going on for the last six months/year in one form or another and it is for the reasons I have given. People may have different feelings about Britain and devolution but the sudden interest of the Labour Party in “Britain” can have only one conceivable motive.
Barnett Formula questions
Local elections coming
Polls in the national Press on feelings in both countries towards the union and the imminent local elections in whuch it is expected the SNP will make gains .
It is the SNPs stated policy which is constantly reaffirmed that they will enact a referendum on absolute independence immediately upon gaining power.
this will finish the Labour Party
COINCIDENCE? Come on…..
Ellee this isn`t conspiracy theory this is the opinion of ( I think) the majority of commentators writing or thinking about the issue of Britain I hoped it was relevant to put this context into the mix.Perhaps it isn`t strictly speaking what your subject is so I`ll shut up now ..
Anyway everyone is so nice here I feel a bit of a misery shouting at the Labour Party.
Newmania, I was being deliberately provocative with that statement, I knew it would wind you up!
Newmania, excellent comments on Labour’s embrace / crush(!?!) of Britishness.
I hate to admit Ellee, I love real Chicken Tikka…
Britishness should be about a shared system of value, fair play, a sense of justice and a belief in real freedom- as opposed to continental ‘liberties’.
It is about free speech, freedom of thought and even treating your enemies fair.
It is about the Dunkirk mentality and Scott of Antarctica.
It is about Warwick Castle and Wigan Pier.
It is where you watch football in the pub with a pint of decent bitter.
It is about traffic jams, queues and petty officials.
It’s Home.
Hell, I’m Irish by blood, so that’s what it means to me anyway.
Oh Newmania- Ireland was neautral in the War- though Dev did send fire engines and ambulances to the six counties to aid after the bombings. Hardly the action of a Nazi sympathizer.
Many Irishmen also enlisted and there was quite a substantial intelligence operation to help the British as well in Ireland- amongst whose workers were Dr. Richard Hayes, director of the National Library of Ireland- who also compiled the 11 volume catalogue to manuscripts of Irish Civilisation. There were also German agents too though under American pressure De Valera made life more and more difficult for them.
The Pro-german leanings of the IRA were somewhat incongruous- The IRA provided volunteers for the Republican side in the civil war, fighting against the Germans. The Pro-British Blueshirts on the other hand, provided volunteers for Franco. Because of this there was very little real Pro-German feeling in Ireland. Dev’s telegram of condolence to the German Ambassador might seem a diplomatic mistake in hindsight, but at the time it probably seemed consistent with Ireland’s official neutrality.
Joe, We are eating chicken tikka tonight, but we always have a Sunday roast, btw.
And adding to your list of Britishness, I’ve just made a coal fire, isn’t that so British? And foggy November days, bonfire night, being able to enjoy our four seasons of the year, red double decker buses and black London taxis, unhelpful shop assistants, playing bingo, fish and chips, etc…
And free speech? We must do what we can to save it and not cave in to the political correctness zealots.
Mmmmm. Tikka…
Your last point is very intersting. If British values hadn’t been eroded, we wouldn’t need political correctness. I’m often seen as being PC by my friends, but I don’t think I am, it’s about being fair. Because we have forgotten that value of fairness and giving people an equal crack of the whip, we have an enforced fairness code. We have PC because of how society as a whole is fractured. What Britain is now is loads of different sectional groups all negotiating their relations with eachother and political correctness is one of the negotaieting tools. That sectionalisation is a fairly modern thing, I think.
Voltaire loved this country for one thing, its free speech. I suppose a small minority spoil it for everyone.
Here’s another very British thing. Not talking about painful things.
Joe, Never mind not talking about “painful things”, what about not talking full-stop. Arent’t the British people renowned for not knowing their neighbours?
Often this is true. I blame Television. It encourages a boxed in culture, with people in their own little boxes, watching little boxes.
It stops people thinking and acting outside boxes.
Personally I prefer talking to real people than hearing actors portray ‘real’ people talking, or worse real people in an unreal situation acting as if that is how they behave in real situations.
I’m often surprised by how difficult some people seem to find meeting others for the first time.
Then again, it’s them that lose out.
I agree with Heather and can see the dilemma for the teaching of history, as pointed out by Gracchi.
I do think that multiculturalism has been taken too far but it is difficult to remember now that it started out as a vision of tolerance. It is sad, though, that it is possible to live in Britain and complete your education with no idea of the Christian calendar or real knowledge of British history.
I still think the British are the most tolerant people in the world and most important is our ability to laugh at ourselves.
In Britain you can walk down the road to a store and get practically any cooking ingredient you want, from anywhere in the world. I miss that here, less because of the dishes that it is possible to make than because it is an indication of how open we are to absorbing good ideas from other cultures. The fact that this has been thrown back in our faces by a minority is a tragedy.
An Italian, by the way, equates Britishness with punctuality, organisational skills and emotional coldness.
Too many seem to discourage ‘Britishness’ and go for multiculturism instead, which causes too much resentment.
I certainly don’t lose any sleep over this question – the only people I ever hear banging on and on about the ‘Britishness’ problem is our political masters.
Indeed, it seems the more they bang on about it, the worse the problem actually becomes… well, in their heads anyway.
Britishness today certainly doesn’t mean ‘freedom’ or being ‘fair’ to its enemies. On the contrary, past British governments have been chipping away at our civil liberties for as long as I can remember – and as for treating enemies fairly, I wonder if Joe was referring to the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, and the findings of her report that the RUC were in collusion with a very British death squad know as the UVF?
If anything, all the lists I’ve read here (no one mentioned equality which was quite instructive) actually exposes the lack of consensus about we all have in common.
Ellee, when you argue that we have somehow ‘lost the core of our Britishness’ what on Earth do you actually mean by that? Britishness to me has historically been associated with the idea of material interests and race up until the late 50’s.
The race relation industry and multiculturalism is in a sense, a reaction to a past Britishness that focused on the notion of race.
When my parents came to Britain in the 50’s, they did so because they identified British society as potentially a great place to live, work and bring up children. For them, Britain was the place to be, not because of warm beer, foggy Novembers or fish and chips.
The very question ‘what is Britishness today’ is really the wrong question to ask – what we really need to be asking is ‘what kind of society do we really want?’. Your question has seems to have only drummed up clichés. Whereas my question demands that we begin to explore the very purpose of our society.
The challenge we have today is that there is real consensus to speak of – but that challenge also offers us an opportunity to begin a debate about how we go about building the Good Society – for all our benefits.
Can multiculturalism not be British, then?
Is not britishness of its nature a fairly multicultural concrpt?
Britishness can only be said to begin in earnest in 1707, by which time it already enveloped several cultures- as it still does…
Courtney, My question can mean different things to different people, I’m relaxed about that. And because it is so open, it can include all aspects of Britishness, core values as well the images people conjure up, these images can be valued and contribute core beliefs which invoke Britishness. Does that make sense? It’s part of the British culture, cliche or not. That’s why I asked the question because it is so difficult to define, and as a result, how will Britishness be taught in British schools.
Courtney you miss the poit. Your parents (as did mine) came here becuase they liked the scoiety that was here.
Now we are undergoing radical change, there is a need to preserve what attracted them in the first place, because it was by definition good.
This is what being conservative is about, preserving the best as well as adopting positive developments as time moves on.
Newmania- clearly I was having a cloudy brain moment earlier. I can’t wait for the Scots to declare independce, as discussed at length elsewhere!
Obviously core beliefs can create cultural identity.
Look at America. We laugh at them, but they know what is to be American and even an averagely educated American knows the key points of the constitution, even if they do think England is a land locked country.
I know being pro-American isn’t fashionable right now, but I do admire their sense of what America means.
I was having a cloudy brain moment earlier
Not like you CU well I think Ellee is more concerned with the general subject of culture which might be called “Britishâ€? ,at a pinch, and I may have been veering off.
As I have mentioned the values that are importantly associated with “Britain “ are for the most part “English” and they are these.
1 Individual Liberty preserved by Common Law
2 Freedom as preserved by democratically accountable Parliament
3 Inventiveness in social structure ..having conceived of Parliament and Unions
4 Language and the enjoyment of it
1 and 2 are historical in that we no longer have either laws or a parliament which is accountable. We have instead unelected officials who set an EU agenda of legislation. The European parliament is not a parliament, it can only rubber stamp legislation created by the Commissioners. Like others I feel that around the time of Diana’s death we ceased to be British and have become something else. More like the emoting rabbles of Latin America . We are both bovines and supine in the face of this grand theft of the country…
And there I go again……
It should not be taught in schools. You cannot teach people how to feel. They need to naturally feel part of something successful proud and defined otherwise it is simply a gesture not a shared sentiment or a feel good factor. Multi culturalism is a failed left wing policy which thankfully is on its way out. Now a sense of community as a whole needs to be developed – but it is a social effort not a school effort. We all need to be a part of it. Share a sense of pride by celebrating our capital, our cities, young people, culture, monarchy, political debate, the people who fought for freedoms and who made us what we are…
Most of the indiviudual values above are shared values of the West. They are not special to Britain because we exported them. Neither are they enshrined in anything like a constitution on which you can lean like the French or Americans. That should be something of which we are proud – our shared history in the West, our part in this.
Culturally the only way i can see to define us is through improving standards of general education – so that the Jades of this world are not held up as definitive and role models to the young.
The media plays a huge part in identifying who we are what we are proud of at the end of the day so all the education in the world is useless if trash tv and crassness is celebrated and waved about as the way forward. They need to fcous on positive role models.
When i say ‘values above’ i refer to the comment above that identify essentially western values eg parliament rule of law..
ALISON- I disagree Europe is the West and has no great attchement to Democracy and quite a different concept of law. We do share many values with the Anglosphere , America, Australia and so on.
I would hate to think we sharde the values of the French. !!