British national identity
A contested concept of shared culture and identity in the UK.
British national identity refers to the sense of national identity embodied in the shared culture, languages, and traditions of the British people. Its origins lie with the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, though the term gained political and academic prominence only in the late 20th century. Dialogue about Britishness is intrinsically tied to power relations and politics, provoking responses ranging from advocacy to rejection.
Government perspective
Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, promoted the idea of Britishness in a 2006 speech to the Fabian Society's Britishness Conference, proposing that British values demand a new constitutional settlement and symbols for modern patriotism, including a youth community service scheme and a 'British Day'. The conference also identified how English identity fits within a devolved UK. The British government promoted Britishness with the inaugural Veterans' Day (later Armed Forces Day) on 27 June 2006, where Brown stated that Scots and others share values of freedom, democracy, and dignity. Critics argued Brown's interest countered English opposition to a Scottish MP becoming prime minister. In November 2007, The Times asked readers to define Britishness in five words; the winning suggestion was 'No motto please, we're British'. A duty to promote fundamental British values in schools exists under section 78 of the Education Act 2002. The Department for Education's 2014 advice stated schools should promote democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance. The Government's Prevent strategy of 2011 listed democracy, rule of law, equality of opportunity, freedom of speech, and rights to live free from persecution. The 2018 CONTEST strategy codified the list as the rule of law, individual liberty, democracy, and mutual respect, tolerance and understanding of different faiths and beliefs.
Ethnicity and social trends
According to the 2011 census in England, around 85.4% of residents are White, 7.8% Asian, 3.5% Black, 2.3% mixed-race, 0.4% Arab, and 0.6% other ethnicity, with a higher non-white population in large cities. A 2007 survey found most people in non-white ethnic minority groups described their national identity as British, English, Scottish or Welsh, including 87% of mixed heritage, 85% of Black Caribbean, 80% of Pakistanis, and 78% of Bangladeshis. Non-whites were more likely to describe themselves as British than whites; one-third of White British respondents described themselves as British. A 2005 study for the Commission for Racial Equality found that in England, most ethnic minority participants identified primarily as British, while ethnic English participants identified as English first. In Wales and Scotland, both white and ethnic minority participants identified as Welsh or Scottish first. White participants felt Britishness was threatened by large-scale immigration, perceived unfair claims on the welfare state, moral pluralism, and political correctness, with frustration often targeted at Muslims. Muslim participants reported feeling victimised and asked to choose between Muslim and British identities.
Within the United Kingdom
In the 2021 census, 56.8% of England's population chose a 'British only' identity, 15.3% 'English only', and 14.3% both. This marked a large change from 2011, when 19.2% chose 'British only', 60.4% 'English only', and 9.1% both; the Office for National Statistics attributed the shift to a change in the order nationalities were listed, with 'British' as the top option. In Northern Ireland's 2021 census, 31.9% chose 'British only', 29.1% 'Irish only', and 19.8% 'Northern Irish only'. In Scotland, a 2006 study found over eight in ten people saw themselves as Scottish, with a long-term decline in those defining as British. The 2011 census in Scotland showed 62% identified as Scottish only, 18% as Scottish and British, and 8% as British only. The 2021 census showed 65.5% as Scottish only, 8.2% as Scottish and British, and 13.9% as British only. Kenny MacAskill, an SNP MSP, stated in 2008 that while there is a concept of Britishness, he considered himself Scottish, not British. In Wales, the Annual Population Survey in June 2017 found 63.2% of respondents defined their national identity as Welsh.
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