Review: Nations of Britain

Abstract

The constitutional reforms of the Blair government of 1997 have stimulated renewed interest from journalists, historians and sociologists on what might be called (but significantly almost never is) the 'national question' in Britain. Chris Bryant's contribution to this growing literature has three chief merits. First, it deals comprehensively with all four 'nations' of Britain, as he is adamant that 'Britain' merits this term just as much as its constituent parts of Scotland, England and Wales. Second, it has a fierce eye for historical detail and the stamina to insist upon it in a comprehensive historical and sociological review. As well as chapters dedicated to Scotland, Wales and England, Bryant considers the legacy of Imperial Britain at length as well as Britain's contemporary 'international' relations with the European Union, the Commonwealth, and the United States. He also devotes a chapter to prospects for the reorganisation of government in the English regions. Third, the impressive volume of empirical evidence considered ranges over historical outlines of the genesis of the contemporary British state, the details of constitutional arrangements and treaties to a battery of empirical surveys (Eurobarometers, Gallup polls, the Census etc). He cites an astonishing range of secondary material from political science, sociology, history, law and anthropology as well as 'popular' comment, such as the essays by Jeremy Paxman or Andrew Marr. Such comprehensiveness will surely see this book head students' reading lists in a range of different courses, as well as providing a useful reference work for scholars and for Bryant's intended but always elusive audience: 'fellow citizens contemplating the future of Britain' (p.2). This dense empirical and analytical diet is leavened by personal observations and judgments which range from the incisive: e.g. his insistence on careful