Your Comments: True Brits

The government is urging us to consider our British identity

Thank you for sending us your comments on Panorama: True Brits.

The debate is now closed but a selection of your views are published below.

Panorama: True Brits was shown on BBC One at 8.30pm on Monday 25 August 2008.

Read more about True Brits

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The concept of "Britishness" is a debatable & grey area. The long history of Britain from the time of invading Vikings & the Empire beyond Britain's shores, makes Britishness a multi-cultural/multi-racial issue. Being British is a sense of true belonging, regardless of one's colour/religion. A written "test" cannot make one "British".
Jerry

When people attempt to define Britishness effectively they tend to refer to the 'other' - what we are not, more than what we are: 'We are a democracy' - because others aren't. Interestingly, the points in history when 'Britishness' has been most clearly identifiable have been those points in history when 'Britain' and therefore 'Britishness' has been under threat - in the Napoleonic Wars and Blitz. Now in response to the perceived threat of terrorism, the government again feels the need to define who we are. Why do we feel the need to ask what is British? My view is that it is those periods in time when the concept of Britishness is left alone and undefined that our national identity is actually strongest.
Josh Smith

Your programme was divisive and based on erroneous concepts. Why can someone not be both Scottish and British? Your presenter is English and British just as I, born in Belfast, am Irish and British. Every British person has a dual identity. It is ridiculous that in this day and age an Englishman confuses England and Britain: it's exactly this attitude that creates the divisions. Further, making people choose one place as 'home' is very weak journalism, as home is an very elastic concept affected by the distance you are from it: when I land at Heathrow I'm home, but when I'm 100 metres from my front door, I'm not. Northern Ireland is the home of my past, England the home of my present and future. I'm Irish and British. Cope with it.
Diane Ireland

My grandfather was Swiss, my husband's father was Czech, they chose to live in this country. I am very proud to be British. Let's wave a flag and not be afraid to do so.
Shirley Sepkes

We now live in France, in the Dordogne. It reminds me of England 40 years ago. Britain no longer exists as I knew it. I just hope I'm never forced to return! 'Britain' is gone. Someone should think up a new name.
Jude Thompson

I think people get mixed up about being British. For example there are 4 nations in the UK and most folk will say they are Scottish, English, Welsh, Northern Irish or Cornish but very few say British. The notion of British confuses people as in that British are 4 nations.
Kevin O'Leary

I felt nothing but despair whilst watching tonight's "Panorama" on "Britishness". The most terrible tortures, atrocities etc. of the Nazi party stemmed from views such as those expressed by the B.N.P. I think its WONDERFUL to live in a multi-cultural society with all the richness and diversity it brings. I can't think of much worse than to live in an all white British society. What about all the millions of Brits who have "invaded" other countries like Australia, India Spain etc , why isn't THAT fact ever mentioned? Also, we Brits are the worst offenders where not bothering to learn the native languages are concerned, often British people emigrate to other countries, and always expect the people of that same country to SPEAK ENGLISH!! Its therefore a bit rich to expect people coming into this country to speak perfect English, - we should set an example for once and bother to learn the languages of the countries WE go to abroad.
Penny Chrissie Haines

On your programme you just announced Gordon Brown as being a 'Scottish' prime minister. Is anyone ever announced as being 'English'? I am 58 years old and was born in this country as were my mother and father and their ancestors. Yes I am British but I also belong to what seems to be a totally forgotten race in this country - English. The word never appears on any form where you complete what race you think you are. I have to check 'White British'. It's an absolute travesty in this country that we recognise all minorities and yet being English seems to be swept under the carpet all the time. We even respect Scottish, Welsh and Irish people and give them their respective labels but do we ever call anyone 'English'? Princess Diana when she married Prince Charles brought back an 'Englishness' into our whole establishment against a very German/European background. I teach other nationalities and they tell me their race which is often equated with their language. Even if they have a British passport they will still refer to themselves as 'Iranian' etc. I tell my students that I am 'British' but my RACE is English. Everyone needs their own identity - after all. The refugees who came to this country after the 2nd world war might have acquired Britishness but at the end of the day they would have been recognised as being Polish etc. and would have later become 'British' while still being able to completely respect their own Polish identity. I feel that I belong to an ethnic minority which needs to be recognised and I hope 'somebody' will take this cause up!
Auriol Peacock

Britishness - I promise I will do my best to do my duty to my god to serve the queen (as head of a multi cultural state) and help other people - what else do we need?
Sue Benyon

I think we should have a British ideology and even a national day because it will strengthen the sense of national pride in our country and make people want to stay here like in the United States.
Lee Growse

For a bit of a laugh I took the test to see how British I was! I couldn't believe I got the question wrong about dogs not requiring licences - well in Northern Ireland we are required to get these. Does this mean Northern Ireland is not British and do the people who set these questions have a clue?
Keith

We shouldn't look to the past nor a struggling present for a definition of Britishness. We should look to the future, make everybody who is British proud to be British and set an example to the rest of the world. Britishness should not be judged on colour, class or creed but on a sense of decency, caring and a willingness not to make judgements based on colour, class or creed.
Stuart

As a Welshman, I was surprised and annoyed that when canvassing opinions on "Britishness" Wales, and its people, were ignored. As a country, one of those making up the British Isles, the views of the Welsh people should have been sought. Is this omission the way to strengthen the British identity or is it the BBC's deliberate intention to break the links holding Britain together.
T. F. Wilson-Hooper

I don't see why the government are trying to make us more "British" as I see myself being Anglo-Irish and I'd rather continue to have that to describe my nationality which represents who I am than rather than a name which has now got the reputation of falling apart to the point where children do not know the difference between British or English. I think a much better idea would be to have a Home Nation day (which I think would go down better with the Scots) that will let us celebrate our own part of Britishness and who we represent in that nation rather than an English person having to call themselves British for the sake of the rest of the union.
Nick Dyer

Make VE day a national holiday. On your programme, it was said on numerous occasions that what has defined 'Britishness' in the past is our enemies. Striving for the meaning of 'Britishness' is extremely woolly at best - when you ask a lot of people what is British, they end up listing anything from food to TV shows, rather than anything that defines our national character. Picking a date out of the blue - August Bank Holiday for example - as a British day isn't going to get people running out of their doors waving a Union Jack to attend a street party and celebrate their Britishness. A lot of people these days don't even know who lives next door, let alone want to spend a day celebrating their national identity with them. Using VE day as a National Day for celebrating being British would bring to the fore the pride people feel. The Brits in general tend to be self-deprecating, and are far more likely to list bad traits about themselves rather than good. However, victory in Europe would be a good starting point. People of all generations still feel an enormous amount of pride about the conflict, and brings out all the things generally covered under the umbrella of "Bulldog Spirit" - standing up for freedom, uniting against a common enemy, good humour under terrible circumstances, being the 'underdog'. A proper bank holiday - no shops open inclusive - on VE day would give people a starting point to celebrate the good things of being British. Americans celebrate Independence Day, so the fact VE day was decades ago wouldn't hinder the meaning of the celebrations.
Lee Adams

An insightful and unusually frank debate for the BBC. My own thought on this is that being British is a nationalistic concept , which is why Nick Griffin and the BNP have a simpler job of putting forward their definition of it, than Gordon Brown and Jack Straw do. I suspect that they initiated this 'British' campaign in an attempt to negate the gathering Scottish nationalism. Of course, all they have done is highlight the clarity of the BNP message. This Labour Government have thus now let 2 Genies out, racism and separatism, which frankly would be better off still trapped in the bottle. Separatism will weaken the Union and Britishness, whilst racism will divide and alienate significant minorities in this country. As a final note, do please allow parties like the BNP and other minority viewpoints airtime. They have valid, or at least existing, viewpoints, and need to be heard to get a balanced argument.
Graeme

There is Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland the British Isles. There is no Great in Britain anymore. If you are born in Britain you are British like it or not. We want our culture back. British politicians have chipped away at everything British in favour of Multi-culturalism. It would be easier to bear If we the British people were shown the same respect when visiting other countries. Welcome to little America!
A Knott

My husband (Algerian) & I watched this programme with interest. We did follow closely the sections relating to foreign nationals becoming British citizens. We too are in the process of my husband taking the Nationalisation test. My husband wishes to pass on two of his considerations:
1. Muslims were focused on a lot in the programme, other religions and people were less focused on, we wonder what about all of the Black/ African nationalities from Africa and the Caribbean who come to live in Britain. What about the many Chinese, Jewish, Sikhs and Hindus? They were not really represented or interviewed in the programme. It was noticeably Muslim weighted. Secondly, my husband did not feel it was fair or worthy to ask a person to choose where they felt they belonged. My husband was born in Algeria and will always have those roots, all of his family are still there. He does however, work hard and contribute to society in the UK and does feel British too. He would like to say that it is acceptable to be both, just as for those who are born to mixed origin families where one parent is British and the other is not. The programme was interesting and we hope to see a follow up to it. This is the 21st century and personally I feel that the term Britishness is evolving in to something different than my grandparents knew, we need to embrace Britishness, not loose our roots and foundations but also be accepting of those who also now call Britain their home, it is well known that a Sunday dinner is either Roast Beef and Yorkshire puddings or maybe even an Indian curry, as a British woman, we often have either one to eat on a Sunday so we embrace the culture. It is certainly the New Britain and should be positively reflected none other than in the 2012 Olympics.
Rachael Mewton

The present governmental campaign on "Britishness" is little more than a cynical PR exercise aimed at damage limitation (in England) for an unpopular Prime Minister of Scottish origin. The diverse nation we have become - and possibly always were - makes the search for recognisably British characteristics fundamentally misconceived. We would all agree with Liberty, Equality and Fellowship (or Brotherhood) - but that wouldn't make us French. The issue (other than Gordon) for the present generation is the extent to which a tolerant nation extends its tolerance to the tiny but vociferous and occasionally violent minority who are profoundly intolerant. I do not suggest that there is an easy answer.
Paul Atkinson

I was interested that there was so little real discussion about the significance of a sense of history - where we have come from - that plays a part in our identity. As a teacher of history as well as religion I feel that one of the reasons that we are so adrift in the sense of our identity is that we have lost a connection to our past, and by this I include the fact that Christianity is such an important part of our history. Young people no longer identify themselves with institutions such as the church and monarchy - what do they identify themselves with? Also I think there should have been some assessment or critique of what the ladies on the programme said about 'white British'. What does that mean? If we look into our history we will see what a mix we are - and how there have been 'foreigners' in our country since ancient times. In addition, I don't think that we should ignore the REASONS why our society has become so diverse. WHY are people wanting to come here? What is it that they like about our society?? What is it that they are escaping from? Perhaps we should consider how we may be contributing to inequalities and conflict in the world that lead to 'foreigner's needing to come here in the first place.
Debbie Peskett

Being British is just something we are. We are a diverse people from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as well as from all corners of the Commonwealth and beyond. The sum is greater than the parts. Why do we have to start trying to define ourselves? We're British and most of us are proud of it. What are we proud of?- Being British. What does it mean?- It means we are British. I think as a nation, by and large, we are a tolerant, irreverent, funny, self-deprecating, creative, polite, honest, fair and brave people. But that doesn't say enough; we're too complex to define. That's the beauty of Britain! Why should we stop to contemplate our navel? Angst is very un-British. We have a press which tries to do down the nation on a daily basis. Other nationalities 'big themselves up'. They have to define themselves but why should we? I'm a Geordie, I'm English, I'm British and proud to be all three; I wouldn't have it any other way - 'nuff said'.
Katherine Mackay

How sad that there was no input from Wales in tonight's programme. This I'm afraid is another example of an Anglocentric attitude which we Welsh endure on national television and radio. We feel as if we are taken for granted eg not represented on the Union Flag, -- little wonder that the question of Britishness has become increasingly irrelevant in the Wales of the 21st century. Britishness would appear to be a label that the Labour Party is now clinging to having let the "Devolution Cat" out of the bag. For so long British has really meant English -- how many times did commentators have to correct themselves during commentary on the Olympic Games? This betrayed the establishment attitude to the "British Question". Very nice Welsh Dragon face painting though - it's really nice to belong!
Robert Owen-Ellis