Andrew Marr: "Englishness has become a problem"

The people at the Independent have been adding the back catalogue to their website. This article by Andrew Marr, which dates from 1993 but only became available yesterday, is well worth a read.

Does the decline of England as a political or patriotic fact matter? It surely contributes to a sense of insecurity and unhappiness throughout much of Britain. More important, perhaps, we should bear it in mind as a potential source of political instability. Of Britain's embattled institutions some, such as the Anglican church, are avowedly English. Others, such as the House of Windsor and Parliament, are British; but perhaps their decline hurts the English patriot most. Nationalism can emerge in a foul temper when people feel their identity is threatened; and when the Maastricht rebels roar against the threat to 700 years of Parliament, we hear the authentic voice of English nationalism.

National feeling matters, and should never be underestimated or ignored. Common sense suggests that English nationalism is buried too deep to influence modern Europe. But common sense, Einstein taught us, is merely 'the deposit of prejudice laid down in the mind before the age of 18'. One day, reformers may rebuild this country in a way that allows England to re-emerge in her own right. Or they may not. Either way, this Scot has an uneasy feeling that the English have had a slightly raw deal. And it is an uneasy feeling.

Bear in mind that this was was written prior to asymmetric devolution. Marr is writing, presciently, to suggest that the confused and muted sense of English national identity (rather than the absence of political representation) will become a problem in years to come.

Gold star for Marr. It has.