Stalking your editorial on the new political geography emerging in Britain (25 December) is the fear of disintegration. This is a political outcome that needs to be taken seriously. Despite the “British” rhetoric of the political class, and the profusion of union flags in highways and byways, the continuation of the United Kingdom in its current form cannot be taken for granted.
Twentieth-century history shows us that when plurinational polities collapse, they do so fast. Crucial conditions for the collapse of plurinational polities are the weakening of pro-integration parties, and the attitudes of political elites in the majority nation. Weakening support for Labour and the Conservatives anticipated in the May elections of 2026 could provide a hint that the centre may not hold.
As yet, the attitude of political elites in England – politicians, civil servants and opinion formers – appears to remain very much in favour of the pro-British project. But as is rightly pointed out, Reform UK remains very much a product of the “historic ambiguity in the expression of English nationalism”. The Conservatives, more radical right than conservative these days, may also be tempted to switch registers from Britain to England.
Brexit represented a moment when English nationalism switched from its habitual mode of supporting the integration of whichever polity England found itself in – the empire, the UK, the EU – to a disintegrative mode. That political energy was directed outward at the EU – with historic consequences. With the EU no longer available as a target, nationalism in England has become dominated by British nativism.
But this version of Britishness may not be enough to reverse longer-term trends that point towards fragmentation and disintegration. Given this, it is time to invest Englishness with a progressive political project, and not leave it to a xenophobic British nativism.
Ben Wellings
Associate professor of politics and international relations, Monash University
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