What does it mean to be ‘British’ in 2020?
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
A Britain fit for the future must know its past.
By Madeleine Anderson
Following a 2014 YouGov poll in which 59 per cent of people admitted to having ‘pride’ in the British Empire, questions have been raised as to how ‘collective amnesia’ around colonialism continues to prevent an honest conversation about what it means to be ‘British’ in 2020.
Britain’s Empire developed during the 1600s, ‘officially’ ending with the transfer of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule in 1997. Only 14 British overseas territories now remain, but the living legacy of empire in today’s dialogue on immigration and identity persists. Critics of the 2016 Brexit referendum cite the notion of a misunderstood history, explaining how a return to Britain’s powerful past would require a regression in our nation’s morals. Strikingly, in the three months directly following the 2016 referendum, reports of hate crimes rose by 50 per cent on the previous three months.
Of the 59 per cent that expressed a ‘pride’ in...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
