The Politics of English Nationhood

Debate on understanding national identity by David McCrone and Frank Bechhofer

“…Michael Kenny has argued that Englishness is an ‘empty signifier’ which is … corralled in the service of a surprisingly wide range of arguments and ideas' (Kenny : 6). On the other hand, Susan Condor has argued that the reticence of the English to talk about national identity does not mean that they do not understand what the concept means (Condor and Abell : 52).…”

Celebrating British multiculturalism, lamenting England/Britain's past

“…In his work on Englishness, Kenny (: 5 [italics added]) argues that ‘different versions of the past are in competition with each other, and these narratives are usually harnessed to different ideas about the character of, and prospects for, the nation in the present’. In fact, in their work on ‘race’, heritage and national identity, Littler and Naidoo (, ; Littler ) draw attention to the propagation of a ‘white past, multicultural present’ alignment in accounts of Britain.…”

“…On each occasion, attempts were made to represent ‘Britain’ via narratives that respectfully acknowledged its ‘past’ while also promoting a positive portrayal of Britain's ‘present’. However, whereas both events prescribed the opportunity for various ‘versions’ of the nation to be displayed (Kenny : 166) and when appraisals of the London Olympic Games have commended its multicultural inclusiveness (Mitra ), such accounts stand in contrast to the animosity and anxiety that has pervaded ‘English’ press reports on immigration and multiculturalism (Drzewiecka et al ; Hoops et al ). Indeed, when previous work has identified a rebirth of English patriotism (Garland ; Kenny ; Poulton ), then it is important that critical attention is awarded to examining the ways in which the English press served to frame ‘Britain's potential power as a multicultural nation’ (Mitra : 625) alongside more recent ‘attempt[s] to recast England as a multicultural nation’ (Kenny : 12).…”

Populism, localism and the geography of democracy

“…In the early days of their government this agenda was supported by some modest new rights for local government and communities (to set up schools, engage in neighbourhood planning and elect police commissioners), and with the provision of funding for community organising. However, following the Scottish Independence Referendum and the growing clamour for English devolution (Kenny, 2014), the Government has been much bolder. In its latest announcements for new 'City Deals', the Government are devolving authority and funding for areas like transport, infrastructure, skills and health to some local authorities.…”