England for the English

Citation

Horsfield, C. (2001), "England for the English", European Business Review, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 377-378. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2001.13.6.377.2

It is as if we have been collectively holding our breath for 30 years, waiting to see if the UK could make something of her membership of the European Community. Now, with a collective sigh, the country is breathing again; it is time to face reality, which makes the publication of England for the English most welcome. It is an analysis of who the English (as opposed to the British) were, are and can be. One of the uncomfortable realities is that the UK is being prised apart by the Europeanists who see it not as an entity in her own right but as fragments of a European Union.

It has often been remarked that the English are the easiest people in the world to govern until they are provoked to take a stand. Then something of their true nature, their stubborn streak, is revealed. Sir Richard Body traces the origin of that streak to before the Norman Conquest.

First, geography affected the character of the people who the Norman conquerors found here. As an island people they were able to abandon feudalism as a means of defence long before its demise on the continent. Released from feudalism, the Anglo‐Saxon land‐owning peasant was able to develop individualism which later manifested itself as Protestantism, followed by that explosion of energy which was the Industrial Revolution, fuelled by capitalism and trade. That sense of freedom led to the cultivation of a distinct legal system whose roots can be traced back to Alfred the Great. Perhaps the chapter entitled “A sense of justice” best describes how the English developed their concept of the rule of law which differs fundamentally from that of their continental neighbours. Because of its flexible and common‐sense approach, the common law is often chosen in international commercial dealings. But our laws are being contaminated by the invention of new crimes, sometimes without recourse to Parliament. The combined forces of the Europeanists and secular humanists in Parliament have been jettisoning some basic principles of our law which have served us well for 1,500 years. Those basic principles can be summed up under the headings of innocent until proved guilty, habeas corpus and trial by jury. Consequently, the rule of law, mirroring the moral code preached by the churches, is giving way to continental disrespect for the law.

Individualism and that respect for the law allowed the English to be tolerant of diversity which comes with immigration. Sir Richard opens his book by recounting a mugging he experienced while returning home late from the House of Commons by train. He was alone in the carriage when he was accosted by three young black men who went through his pockets. He did not resist because the last time he was attacked, by white muggers, he lost 90 per cent of his eyesight. Instead he engaged his assailants in conversation and invited them to help him with a book he has been asked to write on what it is to be English. Surprised by his request they tell him something of their background. Born here of Christian parents, they are Moslems; they left school unable to read or write and now depend on social security. They do not feel British, they say but are intrigued by the idea of being English.

By an accident of birth. the fate of these young men is now linked to that of their parents’ adopted country. England is not the country it once aspired to be and universal education has not been universally successful. A loss of pride in their country has gone with a loss of identity, but, because of the adventurous nature of their ancestors, the language of the English has spread throughout the world. Somehow, a common culture has to be created to weld together the people who inhabit England – now an endangered country, threatened by fragmentation and alien laws and institutions. England as an entity could flourish in a world where technical innovation and the global economy are the order of the day. At the moment, the EU provides neither good government nor a sense of identity and may prove too cumbersome to operate in a global economy. Sir Richard steers our imagination towards a future where he sees a prosperous England, one of 1,000 governments represented in the United Nations. The message of this book is one of optimism.