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A St. George's Day for am imagined nation |
 Mark Perryman, editor of a new book on England after Britain asks why St George still makes some on the Left so cross?
Unlike celebrations of St Patrick's Day or Burns Night much of the Left finds St George's Day a time to sit on its hands rather than join in the party. Of course to a much greater extent than arguments over over Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish identity, debates about Englishness are dominated by the question of race and this in large measure explains our reticence.
No one doubts that as the break-up of Britain gathers momentum, as it surely will, there will be powerful tendencies towards defining an emergent Englishness against immigration and Europe.
Yet to presume that there is an unstoppable shift towards exclusion instead of inclusion would suggest a profound lack of confidence on the part of the left in England. The combination of Englishness and migration is virtually indivisible; driving a wedge between the two would therefore be immensely difficult for the right if the left could only engage with both parts of the mix.
There is a populist strain to an anglicised racism that is certainly not limited to the BNP hardcore. This is centred on a nostalgic longing for the days when England could be imagined as not only nothing to do with Eurrope but all- white too.
However it is now almost impossible to imagine England without black and Asian people as an integral part. From pop to politics, cuisine to music, fashion to business, the black experience is now intimately interwoven into the fabric of English daily life, in a way that is not so obviously the case in Scotland or Wales. Attempt to remove black people from England's racial landscape and you remove one third of the capital, between a fifth and a third of the football team, most high street restaurants and a huge number of successful businesses.
The overwhelming proportion of all people of black or ethnic minority origin in Britain live in England. Forty-five per cent in London, and the next highest concentration the West Midlands, where it is 13 per cent.
A little over nine per cent of England's population is of black or ethnic minority origin, compared to 2.2 per cent in Wales, 2.1 per cent in Scotland and just 0.75% in Northern Ireland.(33) This is a significant differential, and one whose representation should be a subject of contestation, not abandonment to the right who quote such percentages as resounding negatives.
When we track the potential popularity of the St George Cross flag as a potential symbol of our multicultural Englishness, this is the contest we are observing. A team, flag and nation for all, or only for some? There are those who parade their Englishness as a barrier to a new nation.
And those who celebrate inclusion as a core value of the England that we seek to build – not in denial of our imperial and martial past but in recognition of, and opposition to, its worst excesses. In this sense the flags we fly, the shirts we pull on and the teams we cheer for are part of our interpretation, as individuals and communities, of the connections that bind and separate us.
These are complex and contradictory, rarely uniform. As a shift away from insularity gathers pace, an opposition that resists such a process also emerges.
But it is remarkable that this period of an unfolding emergence of Englishness as an identity has been accompanied by ever-increasing numbers of black and Asian football fans identifying with England. Does that mean an end to racist discrimination, abuse and assaults? No – and who in their right mind would make such a claim? But it does indicate an imagined England where inclusion and identity are not the polar opposites that some presume. A place we can call multicultural England is emerging, with a pride in what makes us different – without that there's no basis of nationhood – but proud, too, of our differences.
Respect member Mark Perryman is the editor of the new book Imagined Nation: England after Britain. Described by Gary Younge as " some of the sharpest thinking on both the pitfalls of nationalism and the potential for a progressive English identity" contributors include Billy Bragg, Tom Nairn, Paul Gilroy and Rupa Huq. Published by Lawrence & Wishart the book is available direct from Philosophy Football. |
News and articles of interest
Here are some articles and news reports we think are worth looking at
From Triumph to Torture by John Pilger
Two weeks ago, I presented a young Palestinian, Mohammed Omer, with the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. Awarded in memory of the great US war correspondent, the prize goes to journalists who expose establishment propaganda, or "official drivel", as Gellhorn called it.
SATs school tests criticised by official report by Harvey Thompson and Linda Slattery
In May, millions of school children throughout England undertook their Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs) in English, mathematics and science. The statutory tests are widely considered to be flawed and almost universally reviled by teachers and children alike.
Health: Who asked for choice? - Morning Star
IF Health Minister Ben Bradshaw believes that there is political capital to be made by taking on our NHS doctors, he will quickly come unstuck.
Afghanistan troop deaths outnumber those in Iraq by Angela Balakrishnan and agencies
Militants in Afghanistan killed more US and Nato troops than those in Iraq in June after a fresh spate of rebel attacks that highlighted the growing strength of the Taliban.
Iran legally entitled to develop nuclear energy, says UK MP
Iran is legally entitled to develop nuclear energy under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, according to a British MP visiting Tehran for the first time.
George Galloway, who was expelled from Britain's ruling Labor Party for his outspoken opposition to the Iraq war, also criticized the hypocrisy of Israel's belligerence towards Iran, which has its own illegal stockpile of nuclear weapons.
In the Cause of Fear and Ignorance by John Pilger
Muslims are alone as they watch the British state, with its "obstinate incomprehension" of their faith, do to them as it would never do to those of other faiths. Imagine Jews treated this way. You cannot imagine it; the profanity is too great. The silence of British Jews, who have the history, is also great.
Migrant Myths by Adam Ford
As part of her degree course, Kurdish migrant Filiz Celik researched the conditions that workers from overseas face in the United Kingdom. The full text of her study can be read here, but this summary by Adam Ford gives some idea of the reality behind the media-generated myths.
Tesco shareholders reject TV chef's chicken welfare call
Tesco shareholders today voted against a resolution from TV cook Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall which called for the retail giant to improve its chicken-rearing standards.
Academies expelled 10,000 pupils
Academies have been accused of excluding disproportionately high numbers of students after it emerged that they excluded nearly 10,000 pupils for poor behaviour last year.
Let companies run state schools for profit, says Sir Simon Milton
Private companies should be allowed to run state schools at a profit and be free to dismiss teachers who are not up to the job, the head of the Local Government Association (LGA) said yesterday.
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