Unit 1 The British context

Historical growth
From about 600 BC-AD 1066, the island experienced successive settlement
and invasion partners from peoples who originated in mainland Europe, such
as Celts, Belgic tribes, Romans, Germanic tribes (Anglo-Saxons),
Scandinavians and Normans. These immigrants over time collectively
created a multi-ethnic British population with mixed identities.
The early settlers and invaders contributed irregularly between the
ninth and the twelfth centuries AD to the building blocks on which were
gradually established the separate nations of England, Wales, Scotland and
Ireland.
Later developments within the islands were greatly influenced first by
the expansionist, military aims of English monarchs and second by a series
of political unions:
1603 England + Scotland
1707 England + Scotland + Wales = Great Britain
1801 Great Britain + Ireland = United Kingdom
1921 southern Ireland left the union while Northern Ireland remained part
of the UK.
These historical developments involved political deals, manipulation
and constitutional conflicts and encouraged the gradual creation of a
centralized British state, the UK, which owed much to English models and
dominance. State structures such as the monarchy, government, Parliament
and the law developed slowly and irregularly, rather than by planned
change, to provide an organization for the four component countries. There
were also periods of internal violence and ideological conflict such as
royalist and tribal battles, civil wars, nationalist revolts by the Scots, Welsh
and Irish against the English, conflicts with European powers, religious
problems and social dissension.
British have insular and conservative mentalities, with preference for
traditional habits and institutions, orderly progress and distrust of sudden
change. Some influences have come from abroad during the long historical
process. However, the absence of any successful external military invasion
of the islands since the Norman Conquest of AD 1066 has allowed the
nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to develop internally in
distinctive ways, despite frequent and violent conflicts among them.
The social organizations and constitutional principles of the British
state, such as parliamentary democracy, government, the law, economic
systems, a welfare state and religious faiths, have developed slowly. They
have been forged by disputes, conflict, self-interest, consensus, compromise
and conquest. The structures and philosophies of British statehood have

Unit 1 The British context

been imitated by other countries or exported through the creation of a
global empire from the sixteenth century and a commercial need to build
world markets for British goods.
The developed British Empire was an extension of earlier English
monarchs internal military expansionism within the islands and in mainland
Europe first and overseas after. This colonialism was aided by increasing
military might into the twentieth century.
Internally, successive agricultural revolutions in Britain from the New
Stone Age and Anglo-Saxon period added wealth, exports, prestige and
international trade. Britain became an industrial and largely urban country
from the late eighteenth century because of a series of industrial revolutions
and inventions. Britain has been responsible for influential scientific, medical
and technological advances.
The historical development of the British state and its empire was
aided by increasing economic and military strength, so that by the
nineteenth century the country had become a dominant industrial and
political world power. It was a main player in developing Western ideas and
principles of law, property, business, liberty, capitalism, parliamentary
democracy and civil society.
Political union within Britain, despite continuing tensions, had also
gradually encouraged the idea of a British identity (Britishness), in which
all the component countries of the UK could share. This was related to
Britains imperial position in the world and its identification with the
powerful institutions of the state, such as the monarchy, law, Parliament,
the military and Protestant religion. Pressure for constitutional change
resulted first in partition of Ireland in 1921 and second in devolution
(transfer of some political power from the London Parliament to elected
bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) by 1998-9. These changes
encouraged (and still encourages) fierce debate about such issues as the
nature of Britishness, national identities within the union and the future
constitutional and political structure of the UK.
The British state has seen many other political and social reforms
over time, such as the extension of the vote in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, the nationalization in te twentieth century (with the state
becoming the owner of public industries and services) and the creation of a
welfare state.
The country experienced relative decline in the twentieth century. Its
social and economic strength was seriously reduced by the effects of two
world wars in the first half of the century and by the dismantling of its
imperial global power in the second half. Its ethnic composition, state
structures, social policies, religious beliefs and economic institutions have all
been affected by profound domestic developments and external pressures.

Unit 1 The British context

Since the Second World War (1939-45), Britain has had to adjust with
difficulty to the withdrawal from empire, which was inevitable in the face of
rising self-determination in the colonies; a reduction in world political status;
global economic recessions; increased foreign competition; internal social
change; a geopolitical world order of superpowers (the USA and the Soviet
Union); international fluctuations and new tensions after the break-up of the
Soviet Union in 1990s, with the USA becoming the dominant force; the
emergence of Far Eastern powers such as China and India; and a changing
Europe following the destruction wrought by two world wars.
The nation has been forced into a search for a new identity and
direction, both internationally and nationally. It maintains its traditional
worldwide commercial, cultural and political links, such as its relationship
with USA, while has another view in the European Union. In recent centuries,
Britain has rarely seen itself as an integral part of mainland Europe. British
politicians argue that isolationism is not a viable option in a globalized
world. Britain has attracted terrorist threats, culminating in suicide
bombings against the London public transport system by British-born
Islamist on 7 July 2005and further failed attempts on 21 July. These terrorist
attacks have raised debates about the nature and loyalty of the countrys
multi-ethnic population and about government policies on immigration.
Britain has become intimately involved in the globalized debates of the
twenty-first century, from which it cannot isolate itself as it did at periods in
the earlier history.

Structural change

TOP DOWN policies: from government, law and Parliament to the

people. Decision-makers, distant from general public. Centralized,
concerned with state or public business.
Disenchantment: distrust of politicians, elites and bureaucrats,
democratic deficit.

BOTTOM UP policies: sports, families, youth, faith groups,

neighbourhoods, local, ethnic, fellowships. Linked closely to the
concerns of society grassroots.

Exception: local government or groups dominated by elites. Then,

a sense of powerlessness may appear in the excluded people.

The number and variety of top-down and bottom-up structures mean

that there are different and often conflicting ways of life in contemporary
Britain, which contribute to the pluralistic nature of the society.
The British identities are determined by how people react to social
structures. The popular culture of sport, television, music and fashion

Unit 1 The British context

influences social patterns, behaviour, economic consumption and the
adoption of very diverse lifestyles.
National and local behaviour in Britain has often reflected a strong
individualistic streak in the British mentality, which views authority with
suspicion and has often led to nonconformity. The British national and local
institutions are questioned to be able to cope with the demands of a
complex contemporary life.

Contemporary conditions
There was never a need for a formal constitution; the law, evolving in
response to changing circumstances, was based on shared values, general
tolerance and a common understanding of rights. But in the last 30 years
ethnic division, devolution, regional nationalism and religious extremism
have widened the sense of Britishness. A misunderstood multiculturalism
has led to social and cultural fragmentation. The Times, London 2005.
In Britain there are divisions caused by such factors as the influence
of London on the rest of the country; the cultural distinctiveness of Wales,
Scotland, Northern Ireland and England; demands for greater autonomy in
local government and less centralized control from London as well as for
greater democracy and accountability in lcal government itself; disparities
between affluent and economically depressed areas throughout the country
(including the crime); political variety; continuing debates on the positions
of women and minority ethnic communities; demands for a variety of rights;
the gap between rich and poor, with a growing of the disadvantaged class;
tensions between the cities and the countryside; and increasing
generational differences between young and old.
These features suggest a decline in consensus views and support for
national institutions. Britons are now more nonconformist, multi-ethnic,
secular and individualistic than in the past.
Britain has dropped to 25th place on a list of the best countries in the
world to live in because of the climate, crime rate, congested roads and long
working hours and a bad image of its politicians. The last decade had left
the British feeling less trustful and outspoken of their leaders.
There is a tension between presumed tradition and attempts at
modernization or change; a sense of hopelessness; a frustration that
institutional structures or the authorities are unable to rectify difficulties;
and a feeling that the individual is powerless to influence reform. There is
still conservatism in British life which regards change with suspicion. This
may lead to tension between the need for reform and nostalgia for an
assumed ideal past, causing difficulties for progress.

Unit 1 The British context

Social structures are resistant to alteration. An economic decline since
the late nineteenth century was joined to a political system and national
mentality unable to cope with the needs of the post-industrial and culturally
diverse society that Britain had become. The country still suffers from
structural defects, which could respond to radical rethinking.
British people now are enjoying greater prosperity and opportunities
than in the past sixty years. Consumerism, increased ethnic diversity,
feminism and an expanded role for women, greater individual freedom and
increasing tolerance for alternative lifestyles, technological advances and
new economic policies have transformed Britain.
Conservative governments under Margaret Thatcher (1979-90) tried
to reform social structures and promote new economic attitudes. They
attempted to reduce the states role in public affairs and replace it with
market forces. The focus was upon economic growth; competition;
privatization; the creation of choice in public services such as education and
health; and the reform of the trade unions, some professions and local
government.
The policies that went from the dependency culture (the automatic
reliance on the state for support) to the enterprise culture (more
individual competitiveness and efficiency) were partly accepted by British
people. This suggest that it is difficult to change Britons attitudes and that
many still look to the state for support in areas such as health, education
and social security.
The Labour government followed the Conservative economic
approach and attempted to modernize Britain. It spent large amounts of
public money on education, health, transport, social security and the police
service in order to prevent their decline, although British people didnt
realise its good effect but raised their fears of income tax rises to pay for
them. In 2010, there was a growing disbelief by voters in the Labour
government to pay off the budget deficit, to avoid tax increases, to maintain
public services and to avoid greater costs.
Forces for change are opposition political parties with their alternative
programmes; groups exerting influence upon decision-makers; grassroots
movements protesting ; rebellion by members of Parliament of all parties
against proposed government legislation; campaigns by the media to
promote reform or uncover scandals; and the weight of public opinion for or
against official plans. However, central government initiatives in London are
the most important factors in determining structural change at national and
local level as politicians implement policies or respond to events.
The British today are confronting different cultural and economic
realities than in the past when they had a more clearly defined world role
and a great sense of Britishness. They do not enjoy the benefits of earlier
industrial revolutions but have moved to a post-industrial economy in which

Unit 1 The British context

the service sector and job flexibility dominate. The society has seen a
decline in traditional certainties and become more mobile, stressful and
conflict-ridden.

British attitudes to Britain

Recent opinion polls indicate increasing dissatisfaction with politicians and
authority figures and scepticism at the performance of institutions and their
bureaucracies. British have been historically cynical, with conservative
mentalities and distrust of sudden change, traditional, irreverent and critical
about state structures such as the monarchy, schools, Parliament, law and
the Church, sometimes with an antisocial behaviour against them
(yobbishness). Thats why theres less election turnout and reduced
membership of political parties but more protests and demonstrations.
In recent years, the state has intruded further into peoples lives.
Britain has the highest number of CCTVs of any European country.
In 2010 a poll said that the economy was the first issue that British
are concerned with, followed by race relations/immigration in the second
position, crime in the third one, unemployment and lack of industry and
factory closures in the fourth, in the fifth place was the National Health
Service (NHS), hospitals and health care, in the sixth position were
education and schools and in the seventh one were defence, foreign affairs
and international terrorism. These areas have consistently been very
prominent concerns in recent years. Immigration and defence have varied in
importance after the terrorist attacks on New York and the Islamist bombing
of the London transport infrastructure on 7 July 2005, the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan and the continuing threat of terrorism in Britain. The issues of
pensions and social security are fears that grow up.
The 2010 general election had no clear winner; in fact, a poll of that
year says that 73% believed that British politics were broken. The notion of
political correctness is concerned with care in expressing views (not
expressing unfashionable political views), something that was lack as well.