Brown on Campus

Gordon Brown called for a 'British Day' to celebrate British achievements, history and culture when speaking at a left-of-centre Fabian Society conference in Imperial College last Saturday. He set out his belief that we should build a "strong, modern sense of patriotism" and reclaim the Union flag from the far right.

In his speech, the Chancellor questioned the lack of a declaration of our national objectives and the need for a British version of the Fourth of July, America's Independence Day. He remarked that perhaps Armistice Day is the closest equivalent we have to commemorate "standing firm for the world in the name of liberty."

The idea of a day to celebrate Britishness was widely supported, though reservations were made about combining it with Armistice Day or Remembrance Sunday. Another suggested date was 1 May, the day the Act of Union came into effect in 1707, uniting England and Wales with Scotland to form Britain. The Scottish Nationalist Party was quick to refute the idea of Britishness as well as attacking Brown, suggesting this is mere positioning in his aspiration to be Prime Minister.

Mr. Brown emphasised the importance of being clearer about what it means to be British, suggesting that if we were more confident of our British identity, we could have acted decades earlier in supporting African countries and not cowered in the shadow of our past role as an imperial power. He also attributed it to the slow speed of reform, citing the "fear of losing our British identity" as key to our avoidance of addressing constitutional issues such as reform of the House of Lords.

Whilst welcoming this, the Tories cautioned Brown not to attempt to answer the question of Britishness without building a consensus. Oliver Heald, Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for constitutional affairs, said, "building Britishness should reflect the interests not of one party, but of the whole country."

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