ARMCHAIR ACTIVISTS

The Telegraph is waxing lyrical on how great it is to be Great British once more, as a result of the Olympics. You may want to give them our opinion. My letter is below, but other aspects you may wish to consider are…

Team GB comprised of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Britain. The BBC, along with much of the media, airbrushed England out of the events, whilst lauding the flying Scotsman and Welsh cylists. BoJo has organised a victory parade for the BRITISH Olympic champions Scotland has organised a victory parade for the SCOTTISH Olympic champions Wales has organised a victory parade for the WELSH Olympic heroes.

So here is my letter to the Telegraph.


Sir

Iain Martin is correct (“The Olympics have shown that Great Britain is far from finished”, 21/8/08) when he says the last few years have been “difficult for those of us who like to think of ourselves as British”.

However, the only Britons in the Olympics were English. The BBC were at pains to point out that a champion’s nationality if they were Scottish or Welsh, but never English. London plans to welcome the “British” sporting heroes whilst Edinburgh and Cardiff plan a parade to welcome the Scottish and Welsh ones. You can bet there will not be a Union flag in sight at Edinburgh and Cardiff.

The Olympics will indeed be a celebration of Britishness, but it will be new Labour’s post devolutionary Britishness, not the one Iain Martin holds so dear. The Union will continue to be threatened until England is given equal status (constitutional and fiscal) and recognition to the other nations in this United Kindom.

Yours etc,

(Thanks to TERRY from Armchair Activists for this piece)

"To be born English is to win first prize in the lottery of life"