Eighty thousand people marched through the streets of Glasgow last week. Brandishing saltires, they demanded independence from Britain. The reactions to the rally ranged from dismissive – “there was a Scottish independence referendum in 2014, your side lost, move on” – to supportive. Witnessing it, I imagined a similar procession of English nationalists. What kind of reactions would that elicit? It is safe to assume the epithet “racist” would feature prominently in any commentary on an English nationalist demonstration.
Yet, strangely, Scottish nationalism never seems to invite such obloquy. Scottish separatism has been ennobled in public discourse as a virtuous quest for self-determination, as though the Scots were unworldly victims of history – or Irish – and not the headsmen and beneficiaries of brutal colonial missions of plunder (“Rich in the gems of India’s gaudy zone/ And plunder piled from kingdoms not their own …” to quote Thomas Campbell).
But semantics have served Scotland well: England, used interchangeably with Britain, is associated exclusively with the crimes of Empire, while Scotland, whose services were indispensable to what was a joint imperial enterprise in India, is granted a free pardon.
Brexit has certainly provoked an inchoate desire in some passionate supporters of Europe for revenge against England – that boorish fount of leave sentiment – and the proudly anti-nationalist votaries of border-transcending European integration now champion Scottish nationalism and new borders in Britain. The mutilation of a 300-year-old union – one of the most successful, perhaps even the most successful of all, politico-cultural marriages in history – is now a progressive cause.
Into this atmosphere of sanctimony, self-pity and accusation, Jeremy Black tosses his hand grenade of a book. There is a certain impishness to the timing of its publication. Just when it is most fashionable to blame England for every ill that stalks Britain, Black, a professor of history at the University of Exeter, comes along with a history that charts the millennial nationalist yearnings of the people who make up Britain's majority. Perhaps he's goading the enlightened, prodding them to reveal their lack of principle by sneering at one form of nationalism while indulging another.
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Modern English nationalism (or, more accurately, proto-nationalism) rests on two major pillars. One is rooted in history, and Black does a marvellous job of excavating every trace of Englishness – "an identity, a consciousness" – from the past, beginning with the reign of Alfred of Wessex in the 9th century. The recovery of the "deep history" of English identity is accompanied by an insightful investigation into the rise and decline of "Britishness".
There is a tinge of melancholy in Black’s writing here. But the book grows lively as Black, discarding academic strictures, progressively morphs into an engaging commentator. The second pillar of English nationalism is reaction. England created the modern world, but the English, numbering more than 50 million today, are still a people without a state of their own. The Scottish independence referendum of 2014 compelled England for the first time in this century to reckon with the prospect of Britain’s abrupt dissolution. That experience – the closeness of the result – provided a fillip to English nationalism.
And Tory politicians in England, seizing the opportunity, began paying the Scottish nationalists, whom they had just opposed in the independence plebiscite, the compliment of imitation. As the former British prime minister Gordon Brown, a fierce opponent of Scottish nationalism, observed, "instead of playing the British unity card" to discredit Scottish separatism and bolster the union, the Conservative Party under his successor, David Cameron, "decided to play ... the English nationalism card" to win votes in England.
Black’s book will appeal most of all to those who have recently awakened to their English identity. It is difficult to fault, in the face of Scottish nationalism, the proponents of its English variant. But, as the saying goes, only those who are confident in their identity can rise above it. The relative absence of nationalist clamour in the English public square is a measure of the strength, not the weakness, of Englishness. There will always be an England, but if the English do not resolutely defend Britain against the self-seeking blows of its homegrown merchants of Balkanisation – against its Jinnahs and its Jefferson Davises – something immeasurably great will irretrievably be lost.
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
