Howard hopes voters buy Britishness

ANALYSIS
By Nick Assinder
BBC News website political correspondent

Michael Howard's "Britishness" speech was the sort of thing once regularly heard from Conservative party platforms. And that is precisely his point.

He believes a mixture of political correctness, moral relativism and even intimidation has stopped politicians talking in such blunt terms about pride in their country and the importance of shared values.

Michael Howard is taking on a controversial issue

Under his leadership, however, such flag waving is back with a vengeance.

The Conservative leader believes he is speaking for the "forgotten majority" of voters who share his views on what makes Britain the country it is and who are ignored by the "new establishment" under Labour.

So, when he talks about the minority of travellers devastating communities, he believes that will strike a chord with those who feel this has happened to them.

For all those who believe Mr Howard is making a brave attempt to speak up for the forgotten majority, there will be those who believe he is trading on fear Blair 'subverting British values'

And when he talks about the "mysterious beauty" of Romney Marsh, which he views from his home, and hints at the benefits of the English Channel separating Britain from Europe, he believes that too appeals to a lingering old-style patriotism and emotional attachment to the country.

And all his internal polling and focus group surveys have suggested he is on to a winner when he talks in tough terms about policing Britain's borders and clamping down on immigration and bogus asylum seekers.

Huge risks

As the son of immigrant parents who "owes everything" to Britain, he also believes he is particularly equipped to speak on immigration and can slap aside allegations of racism and xenophobia.

But there are huge risks here, as others have previously discovered.

When his predecessor William Hague spoke about the dangers of Britain becoming a foreign land, for example, he was immediately accused of pandering to a hard-right agenda of fear.

There were similar assaults on former Labour Home secretary David Blunkett when he echoed ex Tory Prime Minister's Margaret Thatcher's talk of immigrants "swamping" Britain.

But, to a large extent, that is Mr Howard's case - that any talk about Britishness and immigration immediately leads to allegations of racism and scare mongering that frightens most politicians away from the entire subject.

He will undoubtedly find himself criticised for talking in his speech about the desire of "millions of people from poorer countries" wanting to settle in Britain.

This all raises the question of whether it is ever possible to have a rational, sensible and calm debate about these issues.

And, most importantly, whether such a debate is likely in the heat of a general election campaign.

For all those who believe Mr Howard is making a brave attempt to speak up for the forgotten majority, there will be those who believe he is trading on fear and even latent xenophobia for electoral advantage.