ABSTRACT
The process of codifying the ‘national story’ is a part of state formation proceeding more tangible state structures, such as borders and government institutions. This national story can often undergo radical reassessment but, crucially, is often presented as consistent and inevitable. Thus, attempts to question or revise this story can be seen by some as an attack on the nation itself (as seen with the contemporary so-called ‘Culture War’). Using Hall’s ‘Whose Heritage?’ themes, this paper highlights the complexity of the insular colonisation of the UK and the uneasy steps of an inconsistent national story. Popular protest, the struggle for fundamental rights, and anti-Establishment resistance (and counter-resistance) are not the preserve of any position on the political spectrum, of any religious community, or of any minoritised group. Rather, they are a part of the national story of all those who live in Britain. It is argued that, through understanding, embracing and celebrating the inconsistencies of the national story, contemporary British society can understand and frame the social and political changes being experienced in the 21st century within the broader context of British history and not as new forces seeking to destroy a monolithic ‘national story’.
