Is Britain becoming less British?

Question

Are we losing our identity as more and more foreigners are seeking refuge here?

people are taking offence to this question. all i am asking is how different people feel. i haven't aired any views until i select best answer so please answer honestly without judging my motives. x

Answer 1

I don't think that there ever was something that was a British identity in Britain. Yeah, some people imagine that it was cricket on the village green, drinking real ale or cups of tea, and listening to folk music, and, occasionally shooting birds or chasing down some animal with dogs. But this is all just fantasy really. In some places it was like that, but very few. For over a hundred years, most British people have lived in squalid cities, working in crappy jobs for low pay, and there have always been immigrants. All British people are the descendants of immigrants.

The north of England is very different from the south. Wales is different from England. Scotland is different from both. Cornwall has got the sh"t end of the stick since the Normans invaded. And the Isle of Mann is in a world of its own.

Each city has a different character. Different parts of the same city are almost like foreign countries to each other.

I think Britishness is a myth.

Instead of blaming the foreigners, people should look at the real causes of the disintegration of British society: the government.

Answer 2

I hope so, Stiff upper lip, public schools , British is best(what a laugh that is)!!
One law for the rich one for the poor, ditto medical care!
More foreigners here?
When you voted to join the EU didn't you know we would have more foreigners here, unrestricted travel between borders! etc!!
All this cra* about Muslim women wearing veils, how sad the UK really is!
I can only repeat Britain is now multi National 'British' means nothing, which is far better than it has stood for throughout history!
Wake up Brits you are a multi National group now and as time goes on you will learn to live with other cultures, the other cultures and all religions will fade away eventually !
This is not really a question for debate its a fact!!
And I am quite happy about it! Esp' the religion bit!!

Answer 3

I have lived and work overseas for the last twenty years so I can see it as an outsider, the country is definetely changing for the worse I think, not sure if would call it less British or the brits are changing, I see actually more patroism than before amongst the English, Welsh and Scottish rather than British, but also more aggro, more attitude, less manners quality of life seems worse. Still choose to live overseas and don't see myself coming back same a quite a few other brit and they feel the same two, if we have to come back its only for a short as time as possible

Answer 4

AND BIG DEAL!! The truth is that the WORLD is getting smaller every day, and we are quickly becoming global citizens. We should look beyond this whole identity thing, because neither the Brits nor any other European thought about preserving anyone else's identity when they were enlarging their empires. Many places in the world suffer on account of the expeditions led by the British and other Europeans... Maybe if they had let people be, this world would not be in as much of a mess as it is now. So I say, good for you, let you feel what it's like to have your home and your rights taken away from you... What goes around comes around. And in case you are wondering, no, I am not an immigrant to the UK.
I think that pretty much the only people who are fussing (just like the ones in the US) are those that are unemployed not because they can't find a job, but because they refuse to work for the amounts that are offered to them. A lot of professionals leave their homes in eastern Europe etc and go to the UK and will do the work that a professional trained in the UK would do, but at a lower wage. What do you expect businesspeople to do? Others are people with no qualifications whatsoever, and who may not have been looking diligently for a job, and then find a crutch on which to put their burdens or their own inefficiencies.

Answer 5

Obviously Britain is very different to what it was after WW2 we have have so many nationalities put into our melting pot, we have had a lot of readjusting to do and we all managed to rub along quite well until the last few years, now things seem to be fractious with a very uneasy mistrust of each other. I am not sure that we can cure some of the fanatical teachings of SOME of the foreigners that we welcomed into our land most incomer who came here for a better life what just that but a small minority just what us all to become Muslims.

Answer 6

the england of 2008 is diverse to the england of 1950. the england of 1950 is diverse to the england of 1900. the england of 1900 is diverse to the england of 1850, and so on. Britain is often changing, yet never turning out to be 'much less' British. That 'much less' will only develop into the hot common that defines Britishness.

Answer 7

Of course it is. Every country is! That is the point. With mass media and exposure to many other cultures what else do you expect. Do you want to live without Mc Donalds, MTV and Hollywood? How about lliving no Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMWs? The fact is that we have to trade with other countries and trade brings cultural influence with it. Next time you are eating and Indian or Chinese meal just remember that these foods are no British!

Answer 8

Definitely. I am English and I do not use the term 'British' anymore. I think Scotland and Wales do not either. We all have our own flags and I think politically we all need our own identities. The Union Jack is not a familiar sight anymore. I do not think foreigners coming here have much to do with us being less British. I think it has more to do with Government, politics and the media.

Answer 9

Yeah - ever since the Romans came in 43 AD things have not been the same.
And those Saxons, and the Vikings. Not forgetting the Norman Conquest in 1066.
And all those people from the colonies we shipped over here to work in factories. And the ones we invited over after the world wars to help us rebuild Britain.

Yeah the new people coming here ruin our national identity we established a few decades ago.

Britain remains what it always has and will be - a place where good people live happy lives.

Answer 10

The British identity depends on foreign influence. This is what made us great. We could cope with the invasion of foreigners if we were prepared to insist on some basic, fundamental values. Unfortunately, "anything goes" is the rule and opinions are not allowed. So it is not the fault of the foreigners who are seeking refuge; it is the fault of the British who are not capable of upholding even the simplest values. We cannot, and should not send them back, but we should insist that they behave themselves when they are here.