Is the UK experiencing an identity crisis? Or, have we always been a nation of people indifferent to whether we are labelled British or English? Northern or Southern?
Since going to university, I have questioned my identity more than ever before. Somehow, the experience of meeting people from all over the UK and all over the world made me think twice about what I label myself as.
Prior to university life, I had never really thought to question the north-south divide or the divisions and tensions between Scotland and England. Until university, none of this seemed very apparent or important to me.Studying at a Scottish university certainly changed all of this.
Truthfully, I had never thought before of Scotland being any separate or radically different to the rest of the UK. I was soon proved wrong. A recent resurgence of Scottish nationalism, thanks to the SNP, is responsible for this. Now it seems that favouring Scottish national identity over UK national identity is something at the forefront of many people’s minds. There have been countless situations where I’ve heard the “British” label tossed away in strong defiance and pride in people proclaiming their “Scottishness.” This has made me think more about the importance of nationalism and regionalism to UK citizens.
At university, I am always excited to meet a fellow northerner and for my friends studying at universities down south they frequently tell me what a rare opportunity this is. Recently, I have noticed an increase in social media focus on definitions of northerners and southerners. My Facebook news feed is often full of “northern barometer quizzes” and Buzz Feed articles about “why northerners are the best.” If social media is latching on to what many people would argue is an age-old divide, then surely people must be concerned and interested in identity.
Being away from home perhaps has something to do with my increasing tendency to think about identity. When I ask my friends studying in the south what the main regional differences are they like to say the trivial stuff; “they can’t make a proper brew” and “they don’t get our humour.” Personally, I don’t know whether to label myself “English” or “British.” Living in Scotland, I feel more in touch and similar to the people and lifestyle here than I perhaps would do further south. There have been frequent comments in the press calling on Scotland to reject independence and avoid abandoning the North of England to a Tory-dominated South. This, simply demonstrates how strongly identity impacts on divisions and allegiances between regions in the UK.
Many regional and national differences seem insignificant and irrelevant but when each new government repeatedly faces the question – “what are you going to do to tackle the north-south divide?” the plausibility of an identity crisis in the UK seems more likely. Northern-Ireland, is infamous for its own religious and political identity conflicts but the presence of this in the rest of the UK could be growing even stronger. This year’s Scottish Independence Referendum will no doubt encourage further debate on the issue and only the outcome will give us a better idea of how strong or weak the “British” identity really is.
curlywrites 