The EU Referendum and the British Identity

The EU referendum was touted as this generation’s chance to reclaim our power, laws, choice and borders from Europe. In reality, the EU referendum has only brought about division, tensions and hatred to the fore in the UK which admittedly has been bubbling underneath for some time. Essentially the referendum was a ploy by David Cameron to stop members of his party veering harder to the right and falling into the growing political phenomenon of UKIP. In doing so, not only has David Cameron failed himself but he has also burnt down key fibres of our social cohesion within the UK. The referendum has not settled the migration debate but exacerbated it. It has not brought about a potential stable economic independence outlook or vision claimed by the #Brexit camp but rather highlighted uncertainty and our vital and irreplaceable interdependence with Europe.

The so called ‘scare-mongerors’ have been proven right post-referendum with the: Pound falling, Foreign Direct Investment in the UK drying up, the trading in property funds being halted; etc….. the list goes on….

Money aside bigger issues have come to the fore. Most notably, our ability to co-exist with one another and respect our differences has been tarnished and damaged by recent events. Recent events such as the killing of an MP, firebombing of a halal meat shop, numerous racial incidents on public roads and transport. If anything the EU referendum has now made it acceptable to hurl disgusting xenophobic abuse in public — the referendum result giving justification and validation to the behaviour of bigots within the #Brexit camp.

All the racism coming to the fore front in recent days has made me think — as a 4th generation British Bengali — what does it actually mean to be British? Well I tried to break it down….

Britain or rather the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island is made up very distinct parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scots have a very distinct identity: tartan/ clans & surnames, a celtic strength & the Gaelic language. The Welsh too have their own language.

What is the English identity? What makes me English? What are the key indicators and examples?

Tea and scones?

Cricket?

The Royal Family?

Overpaid footballers?

The over hyped national football team?

Our ridiculous mainstream media?

The symbolic British stiff upper lip, composure and lack of emotional public display?

Joking aside, maybe the English identity is a broad and encompassing one?

World War 1 & 2 (which by the way were successful due to the Empire’s use of its Indian, Caribbean and African subjects) and the saving of the free world from Facists?….. Yeah quite possibly a strong example.

Examples and symbols of English identity are hard to decipher and explain when key determinants such as the class divide are too ingrained into daily English and British life. No English man is the same as another from the next county. Let alone, the divide between the north and south (or rather the City of London and everyone else — which would take a thesis or 2 to explain).

Our Language? English is the global language but why is that? The British Empire. Immigration was the primary resultant from the British Empire.

Immigration is our identity.

The most important factor in the EU debate was Immigration — a direct resultant from the British Empire. The EU referendum played to a toxic desire within a certain element of the British population — not to control but — to essentially put up barriers to the rest of the world. When you control the majority of the world for a certain time period you do leave your mark and the lack of appreciation for the consequences of the ‘Empire’ are both startling and hilarious.

You cannot pillage the world and not accept the consequences — regardless of the generational time delay.

Colonial immigrants played a key role in re-building post war Britain but not only did they not get the appreciation for their efforts but not even acceptance of their place in post war British society.

After all this i can only conclude there is not a definitive list of examples of a British identity. It is a mongrel identity. A hybrid of past conquerors, past slaves and globalisation.

#Brexit was an attempt at nostalgia. An attempt to reclaim the glory days of the Empire and at the same time forgetting and ignoring globalisation derived from technological, financial and societal advancement in recent decades.

Do not get me wrong the EU is and was far from ideal but it was symbol of how far we had come and how far we had to go. Not only that but a true symbol of peace and respect. An institutional deterrent from dragging ourselves back to the times of early 1900s with war raging around every corner.

Wether you like it or not being in the EU was a part of the British identity but which has now been stripped away from us. #Brexit has not defined us in a positive way or given us the magical and promised powers but it highlighted how obscure and selfish Britain is in the global arena.

After all this I still identity myself as British….. Whatever that may be…..