The genius of Britain and Britishness is that it is indeed a multi-cultural state. It has been for more than 300 years. This necessarily involves tensions and, from time to time, may indulge certain animosities but there it is. Britishness is a construct and, as such, something that takes time to take root. It is a layered sense of identity that can be as complex and fragile and contradictory as it can be satisfying.
And it is the better and the more valuable for being that. The Idea of Britishness, difficult and sometimes opaque or mysterious as it can seem, matters precisely because it is so amorphous and capacious. It is open to anyone even, no precisely, because we do not make a fuss and dance over it. Nor, happily, do we make a big deal out of it. That's not the British way. But the Idea of Britain and Britishness is a powerful thing and though we do not, being British, fetishise this, it is open to all. As it has been in the past and as it is now and will be, let's hope, in the future. Regardless of race or creed or colour.
Alex Massie (with thanks to Scottish Unionist)
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