Britishness 'will not unite us'

Some say a Britishness Day would bring people together

Trying to unite people around a fixed notion of Britishness will not achieve social cohesion, a charity has said after a study of people's attitudes.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said tackling deprivation was more vital.

It said many people value the UK for being multi-ethnic and multicultural, but "poverty and lack of opportunities undermine social cohesion".

"Cohesion is about negotiating the right balance between difference and unity," it went on.

'Belonging'

The study, called Immigration And Social Cohesion In The UK, involved interviewing residents in Leicester, Downham, Kilburn, Peterborough and Thetford, Dungannon and Glasgow between 2005 and 2007.

It found that concerns about the impact of immigrants on children's prospects - in terms of housing, education and jobs - made a big difference to how they are accepted into a community.

So too did perceptions of who a community "belongs to" - everyone or a minority of people who have lived there the longest.

The government thinks everyone has to become best friends, all lovey-dovey, but that's not realistic Prof David Conway, Civitas

The authors concluded: "The findings of this research go against the grain of the idea that we need a fixed notion of Britishness and British values."

In March, a report commissioned by Gordon Brown recommended that all school leavers should swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen.

It also suggested a new public holiday be introduced to celebrate our shared Britishness.

Professor David Conway, from think tank Civitas, said more must be done in schools to teach children about what unites, rather than divides Britain.

But Prof Conway said he shared the report's conclusion that an imposed idea of Britishness was not helpful.

"The government thinks everyone has to become best friends, all lovey-dovey, but that's not realistic," he said. "By and large people of different ethnic groups do get along all right, but simply don't have much contact."

Prof Conway said a lot of teaching in schools was having a "subversive effect" on British identity and cohesion.

"Teaching about different cultures and backgrounds is meant to help us all understand each other, but its effect is to divide us further and accentuate difference," he said.

"For example, teachers suggest Britain has always been a very fragmented, divided nation, but it hasn't.

Proper history in schools is one of the big things we are concerned about Conservative spokeswoman

"There are things that we could teach to show our shared history. For example, during the World War II tens of thousands of people from South Asia and the Indian subcontinent fought on Britain's side. We never remember that."

'Proper history'

A Conservative spokeswoman said the party remained cautious about any grand Britishness initiatives, but agreed that education had a key role to play.

"Proper history in schools is one of the big things we are concerned about," she said.

"History is now optional for children and they are not allowed to build up the narrative of how Britain has evolved over time."

The research also looked at feelings of identity among white Britons and found that those from Scotland and Northern Ireland felt they belonged more to their respective nations than to Britain.