It’s not Doublethink to support Scottish independence and Britishness

I remember it well: It was in a 2008 debate on whether we should establish a ‘Britishness day’, when many of us were crammed into Westminster Hall to consider this question of great national importance. It was about the same time as Gordon Brown’s much mocked ‘British jobs for British workers’ and there were, therefore, many ongoing debates about what Britishness was supposed to mean and how it could be celebrated. During that debate I said that, (as we move towards independence) ‘all vestiges of Britishness may go and I don’t know what Britishness is’.

Pretty unremarkable, but these comments are now starring in any number of unionist productions, publications and columns (including Spectator blog posts) as the worst example of ‘Nat’ duplicity.

I was, in fact, in good company that day because—such was the general confusion about what ‘Britishness’ meant—the day that emerged as the favourite for this ‘Britishness day’ was the anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta.