‘Britishness’

British national identity or ‘Britishness’ has been variously defined (see Chapter 1) as possessing fluent English skills, loyalty to Britain, integration with the wider community, belief in democracy, tolerance, acceptance of equal treatment for all and respect for the country and its shared heritage. Smith (1991: 11) observes that it has taken several generations before new immigrants' descendants were admitted into the inner circle of the ‘nation’, and its historic culture through the national agencies of mass mobilisation. The Western model of national identity, for example in Western Europe, was seen as cultural communities, whose members were united, if not homogeneous, by common historical memories, myths, symbols and traditions. So, even if new immigrant communities were admitted into the Western states, they would not be absorbed as one of ‘Us’ by the wider community over a short period.

Academics Bhikhu Parekh (2000) and Modood (2007) advocate a civic notion of ‘Britishness’ that recognises and includes diversity. However, in 2000 the ‘Parekh report’ (after its author, Bhikhu Parekh) was published by the Runnymede Trust, an independent research organisation. It created a controversy by denouncing the ‘insidious’ racism of British society, and by recommending that, as much as possible, Englishness or Britishness should be detached from the notion of ‘Whiteness’ (Parekh report 2000: 38; Cesari 2004: 32; Ward 2004: 139). Modood (2007: 150) observes that immigrants' sense of belonging to their host country is necessary for a successful multicultural society.