The 12 most-read LDV posts of 2014 (Day 2)

Throughout the 12 days of Christmas, we’re bringing you the 12 most-read posts on this site of 2014. Here’s today’s offering…

Time for Nick Clegg to ditch the “Great Britain not Little England” line – Stephen Tall | Sun 30th March 2014

I realise that what Nick Clegg refers to as ‘Little England’ is a catch-all term for the right’s “inward-looking and defensive agenda”. But, to many voters listening, it will more likely appear that their identity is simply being belittled by one of those Westminster elite politicians they feel so detached from. It’s the kind of language that fuels populists like Nigel Farage. We shouldn’t be encouraging the artificial divide between Englishness and Britishness. It is perfectly possible for citizens to feel both, either or neither and still to be open to persuasion on arguments about the UK’s membership of the European Union. And we certainly shouldn’t be ceding how Englishness is self-defined to the likes of Ukip or the rest of the right. Liberalism is about recognising individuality and promoting community – whether at family, village, town, city, county, national or international level. There’s nothing wrong with believing in Great Britain. But there’s nothing wrong with believing in England being Great either.

Click here to read the whole piece.

Read more by or more about .
This entry was posted in Site news.
Advert

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Chloe
    Nonconform. How did they get to France in the first place ? They've past numerous free countries, & if I was in genuine fear of my life I'd be happy to reac...
  • Nonconformistradical
    @Jana "We should equally be clear that anyone seeking to leave France to claim asylum in the UK is not fleeing a genuine threat to their lives…they are just ...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    Thank you Sarah - this needed saying. I run high-street small beauty businesses in London, and the "wealthy London" framing misses what operators actually see. ...
  • Chloe
    Peter, we've heard a lot about the positive aspects of immigration in regards to economic benefits. We've had year on year record net migration and many people ...
  • Kevin Hawkins
    Here is my usual monthly summary of the last fifty local by-elections. Although Labour seem to have overtaken Reform in opinion polls this is not yet showing i...