LONDON – It was a lofty idea: Formulate a British “statement of values” defining what it means to be British, much the way a document like the Declaration of Independence sets out the ideals that help explain what it means to be American.
The proposal, part of a package of British-pride-boosting measures announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown's new government last summer, raised a host of tricky questions.
What does it mean to be British? How do you express it in a country that believes self-promotion to be embarrassing?
And how do you deal with a defining trait of the people you are trying to define: their habit of making fun of worthy government proposals?
Nor did it help when The Times of London cynically sponsored a British motto-writing contest for its readers.
Readers' motto suggestions included: “One Mighty Empire, Slightly Used”; “Dipso, Fatso, Bingo, Asbo, Tesco” (Asbo stands for “anti-social behavior order,” a law-enforcement tool, while Tesco is a ubiquitous supermarket chain that now even operates a Fresh & Easy store in Chula Vista and is opening others in San Diego County); and – the choice favored by 20.9 percent of the readers – “No motto, please; we're British.”
Part of the trouble with the whole exercise is that Britain never really began as a country, but rather “just evolved endlessly through time,” said Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at Oxford.
“In the past, Britain was something that just happened. You didn't have to think about it. No one's ever sat down and thought about what it means to be British,” Bogdanor said.
Michael Wills, the Ministry of Justice official in charge of the statement-of-values exercise, disagreed.
“There's been an intense preoccupation with what it means to be British from the 17th century onwards,” Wills said.
After a long period of postimperial transition, economic decline and loss of heart in the second half of the past century, he said, Britain has a new confidence and robustness and is ready to say so.
The government even is considering writing down the constitution. It is currently unwritten, an accrual of precedents.
There is also talk of a “British Day,” similar to Independence Day, and a revisiting of the national anthem, “God Save the Queen.” One of the anthem's later verses advocates annihilating the “rebellious Scots.”
The Scottish, who were empowered by Brown's Labor Party to set up their own Parliament and take more control of their destiny, are feeling particularly un-British these days.
In advocating the proposals, Brown, a Scot himself, has been influenced by the United States, with its melting-pot philosophy and strong sense of national identity.
As for the statement of values, Wills said the government would soon hold “an extensive and intensive” period of consultation with regular people on what being British means to them.
After that, it will convene a “citizens' summit” of 500 to 1,000 people who will deliberate on the matter. The final decision on the statement will be made by Parliament.
