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illy Bragg \yas described by Illt‘ li'nit \
as 'a natinnal treastii‘e', 'l'hat particular
phrase \ynuld surely bring a yyry smile In his lace. nnt least because the Inpic currently \esing the Iilelniig pnlitical campaigner and siiigei'~sniigyyriter is the Itindamental and thnrny nne nl natiniialism and patrintism. yy hat it means In ‘bclnng' Ina natinn at all.
.»\lthnugh the sn«cal|ed Bard nl Barking has spent almnst the last three decades perl’nrming and campaigning lnt‘ sncialist and humanitarian causes. this tnpic has tnuclied him sn strnngly that it's the lirst time he‘s ptit pen tn paper and created a \y hnle bnnk In espnund his belicls.
Ill/IF I’I‘uul‘t‘yyrl't' l’tlll'ltil [felting/II: \ytts ptllillsltetl In \\ idespt‘catl itc‘c‘lttltll last year. and hits a serinus but alsn engaging attempt In tackle the questinn nl \yhat it means In be British ni‘ Iinglish tnr Senttish nr \Velsli nr yyhateyeri in tnday‘s \ynrld. The impetus l’nr Bragg's cnniecttire \yas tyynlnld.
I‘irstly. a B.\'I’ candidate unit a seat nn ltis Incal cntincil. As he \yas pniidering the implicatinns nl that. the 7 .Itin bnmbings in
I.nndnn Incussed his mind nn ideas nI‘
Britishness in the mndern era. I‘ar l'rnm being an c\c|ttsi\ely pnletttical IniIIe. 'l'lit‘ l’rngrt'yyri't' I’utrinl is actually an intelligent and subtle esaminatinn nl the subject. \yhich blends Bragg‘s nyyn persnnal backgrnund \y'itli mnre ny'ertly pnlitical ideas.
'I’artly persnnal and partly pnlitical. that pretty much sums tip 25 years nl' my music. sn there's nn surprise there.‘ he laughs. ’Ynti cant take it all the way back In gning In see The (‘Iash at Rnck Against Racism in I078 that was the genesis
nl‘ all my pnlitical actiyity. 'l‘hnse issues nl
cntnbating racism and sttppnt'ting a diyerse idea nl‘ snciety‘ haye aluays been in the backgrnund tilic‘y’ct'y'lltitlg Iiy‘c‘ tltittc.‘
In the bnnk. Bragg spends a lair amnunt nl’ time rubbishing the BNI"s idea nl' some kind nl
racially ‘pure‘. white. Anglo-Saxon cnmtttttnity in Britain under siege t‘i'nm l‘ni‘eign immigrants.
"l‘hey bandy that \y'nrd ".»\ngln-Sa.\nn" abnut. and they tise a Int nl' Angln-Saxnn imagery. but what do they think that hyphen is there lnr‘." he laughs grimly. ‘x\iigln-Sa.\nit is a hybrid \y‘nrd I'nr a multicultural group of penple. That idea that there was once a hnmngennus. \yhite Iinglish class is just rubbish. These islands. because of their pnsitinn with regards In the Iiurnpean landmass. haye always been a place nl'great migratinn. and long may that continue.
"l'nday'. their target is the large immigrant pnpulatinn. bttt there‘s alyyays been a large nnn- Iinglish pnpttlatinn in Iingland. whether it's Scots nr Irish nr \y'hatey'er. .»\nd ynu can't blame l’nles for coming here. can ynu'.’ The ay‘erage wage in Britain is the times that in I’nland. Now. it ynu were 20 years nld. and there “as snmeyy here you could go and make sandwiches or clean houses" and earn “25.000 a year for three years and then go home again. ynu'd gn. yy'nuldn't ynu‘.’ It's no different l‘rnm my bi'nther laying bricks in (iermany in the Il)t\’0s.'
Interestingly. especially \yith respect In his appearance at the Iidinburgh International Bnnk liestiy'al. Bragg spends part of the bunk examining the differences between nationalism in Scotland and Iingland. While the British National Party e.\pnttnds an ethos of exclusion and \‘ietimisatinn. the Scottish National Party. he argues. have long been ady'ncates til the kind of progressive and inclusiye nationalism sn missing from the pnlitical scene south nt~ the border.
:I SHUT/I I'AII'
‘lt ynu lnnk at the \NI’K statement nl aims cnmpared tn the B\'l’ statement nl aims. they 'rc chalk and cheese. they cntildn't be mnre (IIIICI'L'III.. he says "I he \\l"s ciy tc natinnalism. \\ here ynii‘i'e talking abnut being prntid nl yntir cnmmtinity. that says a Int abnut Scntland. I dnn't \\l\Il tn suggest that \cntland is a \ynnderlttl place lni eyerybntly itist because ynu'yc gnt ynui nyle natinnal anthem. btit I still think haying yntir nyyn pailiament and being able tn distance yntirsell a little tiniii the mnnarchy has allnyy ed ynti In assert a mnre cnnlident sense nt identity.‘
lrnmcally. as Bragg pnints nut in his bnnk. ll tnnk a display nl Senttish natinnal pride tn bring abnut a blnssnming nl snmething similar \Il\\\ll sniith. rnund abnut the Inntball clash betyycen the Inn cnttntries at I‘III'H 0h. Bclnre that time. the \ya\ing nt the llag nl SI (ienrge yyas pretty much synnnymnus \\|Ill right \ying racism. Bragg has been a lnng-time campaigner It‘l‘ reclaiming the St (ienrge's ci'nss as a patrintic langlish syinbnl. snmething \yliich eyetttttally happened spnntanenusly thrnugh spnrt.
'II lnnk the Sc‘ttls c‘ntttittg tn \Vembley In remind tis abnut the llag nl St (ienrge. the \yhnle resurgence nt' the Use nl the flag dates In that match.‘ he laughs. 'Nnyyadays. \yhen penple lly that llag. they‘re dning it lni' a multicultural
‘THESE ISLANDS, BECAUSE OF
THEIR POSITION, HAVE ALWAYS
BEEN A PLACE
OF GREAT MIGRATION, AND LONG MAY
THAT CONTINUE'
l‘nntball team. nr cricket team. nr rugby team. which is \yhat I'yc alyyays \yanted. .-\nd \\hen the B.\'I’ tell penple nnt tn suppnrt the Inntball team because they‘re tint Iinglish ennugh. suppnrt Denmark instead Ul' snmething stupid like that. because they 're all \yhite. it just shims them up as being nnt patrintic at all. 'I‘hnse penple \y'hn think they‘re superpatrints. they dnn‘t Inye this cnttntry at all. they hate this cnttntry and eyerything abnut it.‘
Accnrding tn Bragg. the key In a \yay l'nryyard Inr tltese isles is in the subtitle til the bnnk ‘a search I‘nr belnnging'.
‘I think belnnging is a much mnre impnrtant thing than Britishness. Iinglishness and multiculturalism. \yhich are all hard In delinef he says. "I‘he 7 July bnmbers \y ere integrated intn British lite. nne nl‘ them \ynrked in his family's chip shnp. btit snmething yyas missing there. and that \\as a sense nl belnnging.‘
Sn \y here dnes Bragg see British patrintism heading in the l‘uture'.’
‘I admit I'm sceptical abnttt Britishness] he says. ‘0‘ Britishness is just abnut lnnking back at a glnrinus past. the empire and all that shit. then I think it \inI die. Btit it it becnmes a unifying idea that is successlul l‘nr ey'ery bndy Sents. \Velsh. l'lster. Iinglish. Bengali. Pnituguese. I’nlish it it remains npen like that. then as a cnncept it might just sury'iy'e.’
Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, Sat 18 Aug, 3pm, £7 (£5).
Divine , inspiration
Owen Sheers talks to Katie Gould about his book, Resistance, surfing, Ted Hughes and women's shoes
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' THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 1 1