‘Sod them, I'm English’: The changing status of the ‘majority’ English in post-devolution Britain

Abstract

As well as prompting an urgent reassessment of constitutional and legislative matters, processes of devolution have also contributed to a series of wide-ranging debates on identity in Britain. Yet, outside of survey data and a growing body of work looking to assess the status of minorities in Britain, relatively little has been heard from the wider population. This is particularly true for those who constitute the majority group within Britain, the English. In this paper, I want to offer a complementary perspective by using data from qualitative interviews to explore the ways in which members of the ‘ethnic majority’ in England discuss these issues. The findings suggest a tentative, but noticeable, shift towards an English identity, which is often defined as a necessary response to the increasing assertiveness of ‘other’ national groups within Britain.