ABSTRACT
Any discussion of British national identity is complicated by the frequent conation of Britishness and Englishness. Certainly in the modern era with the political and economic ascendency of England over Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, there has been a tendency outside the “Celtic fringe” to equate British national identity with English identity. Most recently, however, with political devolution, reassertions of Welsh and Scottish identities, ongoing disputes over the control of Northern Ireland, and a growing recognition of the multicultural and multiracial nature of British society, English dominance of the national imagery has been increasingly challenged. The discussion here focuses on discourses of British identity, the symbols and icons, epochs and experiences that have inected discourses of belonging throughout the nation. Nonetheless it is crucial to acknowledge that multiple and competing discourses of nation are constructed in different regions of the country, and to some Britons regional symbols and stories may be more powerful markers of nation than those shared by the national community as a whole.
