British Unity in Diversity

What is Britishness? Is it more than the sum of its parts - or less? Many Scots and not a few Welsh believe that Britishness is no more than a disguised version of Englishness. I have just visited three towns with the same name - one each in Scotland, Wales and England - to try to discover whether there is an overarching sense of identity that it still makes sense to call British.

Nobody in Newport, Shropshire, had a problem with Britishness. In Newport, Gwent, some of the Welsh felt British, though others preferred to call themselves European. But it was in Newport-on-Tay, near Dundee, that we found the greatest reluctance to sign up to a common identity of Britishness.

Here is Billy Kay, a local writer: 'The British identity that I'm supposed to feel part of I see as being first of all an imperial identity through the Empire and then an identity which has been forced by the idea of people coming together to fight two world wars. I don't think that's a healthy identity to carry into the 21st century.'

This is a common complaint - that Britishness is something from the past that has little relevance today. When the Act of Union was signed in 1707, people had to be persuaded to attach an extra loyalty to their long-standing allegiance to region or nation.

Successive governments used the common religion of Protestantism as a propaganda weapon to encourage the English, Scottish and Welsh to unite around a common flag - and against Catholic enemies.

The Empire - which was always the British, not the English Empire -was also a unifying force. It drew heavily on the expertise of the Scots and Welsh as doctors, traders, explorers and administrators.

Then there was the monarchy. Queen Victoria perhaps perfected the art of being monarch to all of Britain and the Empire. Meanwhile, successive wars have brought Britons together in defence of the Empire and the Union. It was the Battle of Britain, not the Battle of England, that took place over the Channel and southern counties.

But history is history: the Empire has gone, the Church no longer binds us, the Armed Forces are shrinking and the monarchy is troubled. Some people feel that the glue of nationhood has dried up. Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish nationalists, no longer wants to be attached to what he sees as a Britain in decline. He looks to Europe as Scotland's new stage.

So do a surprising number in Newport, Gwent. Alan Richards, a sales director, has found that doing business with Europe has changed his outlook. I see our future very much as being linked to Europe as a whole: that includes England. I see England merely as part of Europe. (The Times)