Britannia rules

Politicians need to handle debates on Britishness with caution, since there is little sign of links between national identity and party politics, according to new research.

Researchers Frank Bechofer and David McCrone of Edinburgh University's Institute of Governance found that Englishness, Scottishness and Britishness may now be more cultural than political.

Their study, published in the current edition of The Political Quarterly , reveals that despite a strengthening sense of Scottishness over the past 30 years, the sense of being British is still widespread in both Scotland and England.