No Wealth and No Identity: Britain’s Struggle in the 21st Century
The twilight of the British Empire in the mid-20th century marked not just a geopolitical shift but a profound transformation in the island nation’s identity. As territories once proudly under the Union Jack gained independence, Britain faced an existential challenge: how to redefine itself in a world that no longer revolved around its imperial might. Today, over seventy years since the empire’s decline, the struggle for a cohesive British identity remains a complex and often contentious issue.
This search for a “new” Britishness is made more complicated by the fact that 50 years of large-scale demographic change has altered Britain’s communities and cities beyond recognition and set the country on a collision course with itself. British governments are increasingly authoritarian, such as locking women up for praying outside of abortion clinics, and arresting 11-year-olds who protested against the mass killing of little girls at a Taylor Swift dance class.
The end of the Empire, the entry into and exit from the European Union, and massive cultural and demographic shifts have all come not to define Britain but to make the idea of Britain and being British more muddied than at any time in my nation’s long history.
The British Empire At Its Peak—1921
The Legacy of Empire
The British Empire was, at its height, the largest in history, encompassing roughly a quarter of the world’s landmass and population. Our empire peaked just after World War One and we held onto these territories through to the end of the Second World War, though that war and the entry of the United States into the conflict would bring about the Empire’s inevitable end.
Regardless, being British was for centuries defined by the empire and our command of so much of the world. Millions of Britons fought across the globe, worked in the civil services of colonies, and patrolled the world’s oceans during the Pax Britannica. But, not all things last and Empire’s certainly never last as long as those who run them believe they will.
The end of World War II accelerated the decolonization process, with India gaining independence in 1947—a pivotal moment that signaled the decline of British global dominance. By 1960, more than 30 African nations achieved independence, and by the 1980s, the empire had virtually disintegrated. Negotiations were underway to hand over Hong Kong and when the territory was finally handed back to China on January 1st of 1997 many people viewed it as the conclusive end of Britain’s overseas Empire.
This drastic reduction in territorial control left a vacuum in national identity. A vacuum which has yet to be filled with anything meaningful or substantial.
The elite, for what little they are worth, have dedicated themselves to creating a multicultural and multi-faith society. At first they attempted to do this by being part of the inherently anti-nation-state European Union, but the British have always been unwilling to cede substantial amounts of sovereignty. A holdover from our Imperial past.
Regardless, this multicultural project is now crumbling. Native Britons do not approve of mass immigration and the accompanying demographic change, political parties such as Reform UK and its leader Nigel Farage are on the march all while traditional parties – the parties that brought about the end of the Empire and the birth of multicultural Britain – are failing to garner significant public support.
Before continuing I feel compelled to add that I am not advocating for multicultural Britain to be replaced by another attempt at Empire building. These island nations have suffered de-industrialization, increasing poverty, record levels of crime and disorder, and a general lack of social cohesion. Any attempt and building a second Empire would result in the over-extension and possible disintegration of the United Kingdom and this is not something I desire.
Economic Transformations
The post-imperial era has also seen significant economic shifts. Once a global manufacturing hub, Britain has transitioned towards a service-oriented economy and into a state of dependence on much of the rest of the world.
A recent report by the House of Commons Library revealed that just 8.8% of Britain’s economic output is the result of manufacturing while the agri-food sector contributes just 9% to the national economy.
Indeed, the British cannot even feed themselves properly and the country imports more than 46% of the food it consumes each year. British agriculture continues to be undermined by government and international policy despite a healthy 82% of the British public favoring policies that would increase food production and national self-sufficiency.
But the economic transformations of a once relatively wealthy nation go beyond the products or food that we no longer product. The financial crisis of 2008 led to incredible decreases in British economic output and productivity. These changes have resulted in serious declines in the standards of living. Before the 2008 financial crash the average Britain’s standard of living was just 8% lower than that of other North-Western Europeans, but today the gap has widened to 20%. In fact, the middle classes of much of Eastern Europe have begun to surpass Britain and the poorest Americans are now better off than the poorest Britons.
Brexit Didn’t Fix Anything.
The 2016 Brexit referendum marked a crucial moment in Britain’s ongoing identity crisis. The decision to leave the European Union was driven by a wide array of factors, but the most crucial were the issues of immigration and sovereignty. Many Britons, including millions of Labour voters, viewed the European Union as the biggest stumbling block to Britain setting its own national agenda, an agenda which included the end of mass immigration into the country.
And immigration was THE main issue of the Brexit referendum. In late 2015 some 56% of voters stated that immigration was the most serious issue facing the country and another poll just after election day showed that 33% of Britons voted to leave the European Union primarily because of the issue of immigration.
But, Brexit didn’t fix anything. The same parties that never wanted the referendum in the first place (particularly the Conservative party) were still in power and were completely unwilling to listen to the British public. After the Brexit referendum in 2016 net immigration into the United Kingdom practically exploded and the Conservative government admitted somewhere in the realm of three million additional immigrants into the United Kingdom.
The 2024 Election
The failure of the Brexit referendum, the increasing economic strain, and the record number of immigrants drove some 4.1 million Britons to vote for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. The Tories suffered their worst defeat in a century, and even the Labour Party, which won the most seats, lost almost 600,000 voters. Many more Britons stayed home in protest of having no good choices and the election itself was centered on issues of identity.
Farage made his campaign about poverty and demographic change, about a Britani which had become unrecognizable and a culture that was and is under attack by radicals in all mainstream parties who see no value in being British.
Looking Forward
Britain's struggle for identity in the post-imperial era is far from resolved. As the nation struggles with an increasingly diverse society, stagnant economy, and authoritarian state, the native British will have to find ways to express their political will. This may be through (very imperfect) avatars such as Nigel Farage or it may be through local organizing and politics. I cannot say for sure.
What I do know is that my nation is on a journey and that its national identity such as it exists will be reforged through some kind of great struggle and strife.
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