Alex Massie Alex Massie

What is Britishness?

Commenting on this post in which I suggested that the BNP’s electoral tactics are not dissimilar to those employed by Sinn Fein in the Republic of Ireland, NDM asked that I clarify what I meant when I wrote: “Research shows just 20 per cent of working-class Brits believe that being white is an ‘important factor’ in being British.” Maybe this isn’t a surprising statistic and perhaps I’ve spent too much time living in rural Scotland or multi-coloured cities respectively but I’m not sure I’d have used the word “just” in relation to this depressing statistic.”

Re-reading this, I can see how it might be misinterpreted. My writing wasn’t as clear as it should have been. But, just in case there’s any confusion, I should say that my view is that skin colour or ethnic background are entirely irrelevent when it comes to determining whether someone is British.

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