Disunited Kingdom

Forever scorned by the tabloid press for eroding Britain’s national identity, political correctness has gained centre stage in recent years for its attempt to make Britain a more “inclusive society,” whilst flying in the face of tradition.

The irony lies between what “PC” seeks to do and how tabloids represent it. This is not only segregating Britain’s social factions, but setting them further apart.

Are we really losing our 'Britishness?'

“PC” for better, or for worse?

For some, political correctness is seen as an attempt to pre-empt and eradicate any influence that could cause offence to a minority group. For others, “PC” is consistently interpreted as an attack on traditional British values, however magnanimous the PC intentions aim to be. The latter interpretation is a tabloid favourite but evidently, it is fast becoming a consistent excuse to provoke popular uproar.

Common perceptions

Keen on advocating change whilst celebrating differences, political correctness is seen by many as joke, although not a particularly funny one. It would appear that whenever “PC” is thrust into the limelight by the tabloids, tempers fray. “PC is cretinism, ” remarked Daily Mail regular Patrick Farringdon. “People are embarrassed to be British these days and PC just encourages this”.

Farringdon is not in the minority here. A survey of 25 participants revealed that 78% considered political correctness to be culpable for eroding Britain’s traditional values, of whom, 85% declared they read a tabloid by choice on a regular basis. Tabloids are therefore very successfully influencing widespread opinion.

Who do you trust?

The lead up to Christmas last year signalled an “anti-political correctness” campaign by both Daily Mail and Express tabloids, interpreting all supposedly “PC” measures taken as an attack on “Britishness”.

The headlines “Christmas Banned: It Offends Muslims” and “The End of Britishness,” bolstered sales for the Daily Express, whilst provoking much anger amongst an audience, believing that traditional values were being abandoned. “It makes me so angry to read about such issues. Traditional Britain is becoming extinct and it’s our own people’s fault”, said Farringdon. The Daily Mail however, had difficulty in differentiating between fact and fiction.

The Daily Express’s misinterpretation of a flyer published by Lambeth Council, London advertising the district’s “Celebrity Lights,” prompted the headline, “Christmas Banned: It Offends Muslims.” It provoked popular condemnation. A mass audience interpreting the Council’s move to appease the non-Christian minority, favoured over British tradition, was outraged. The headline and its claims were unfounded. The story however, sold well.

“The notion of Christmas being banned is absurd. There have been the usual Council organised carol concerts and celebrations in the borough, including a tree in the town hall and a ‘Happy Christmas’ banner on the clock tower,” a Lambeth Council spokesman revealed.

The article was inspired by an ambiguously worded advertisement entitled: “Celebrity Lights”, which implied the lights were to be turned on by a celebrity, and not their desire to re brand Christmas to pacify non-Christians. The whole allegation was untrue as it was based entirely on misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that subsequently provoked anger amongst a mass audience, believing the tabloid’s content to be fact over fallacy. “This is just a typical example of PC gone mad! The council is paying too much attention to the minorities and ignoring what the most people want and value,” said Farringdon. “It angers me so much”.

“This misinterpretation coincided with the tabloids’ campaign to name and shame the most politically correct councils in Britain”, Church of England spokesman Lou Henderson remarked. “People of a faith are more likely to accept people of another faith and it is the people of no faith that tend to object”.

Is Christianity offensive to minorities?

The case of Lambeth’s Christmas lights is a mere snap shot of tabloids replacing fact with fiction in a plea to present PC in a sensationalist manner, persuading readers that PC is putting minorities first to the detriment of traditional British values.

The Daily Express accused Torbay County Council of removing a 6 feet high cross at the local crematorium last year “to ensure equality for all faiths”, whilst not allegedly consulting any clergy or priests. The local Council however, report a very different ulterior motive whilst confirming the Bishop of Exeter’s backing of the decision.

Torbay County Council spokesman, James Spencer stated that the original cross was actually removed for health and safety reasons due to the risk posed for crematorium staff who had to erect and dismantle the cross in response to requests by believed families of different faith and no faiths at all. “We have never passed a judgement on whether the cross was offensive and we have received both letters of support and complaint after the move,” said Spencer.

St. George offensive to inmates?

The Daily Express accused Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers of banning St. Georges Cross tie pins, fearing “some inmates could find them offensive”.

Again, the claim is one of fabrication, seemingly designed to antagonise readers into feeling that celebrating our national identity is an embarrassment.

In reality, all tie pins in prisons were been banned, not just tie pins exclusive to the St Georges cross. “The issue is a security matter because tie pins have the potential to injure,” reports a Prison Service spokesman, Richard Carling. “The fact that the tie pin displays the St. Georges Cross is irrelevant here, as they are all now banned, regardless of what is inscribed on them”.

The vicious circle continues

Although PC has sparked controversy by signalling the end to traditional pursuits in some areas, such measures are usually inspired by risks to health and safety. Conkers, snowball fights, and British bulldog are childhood pursuits have indeed been outlawed by some Council in schools. PC, however is not the reason why we are losing our “Britishness”. The common tabloid practice of using ethnic minorities as scapegoats, whilst provoking reactionary mindsets, has everything to do with it.

Tabloids fabricating facts whilst accusing political correctness of undermining our national heritage will inevitably provoke nationalistic sentiments to multiply. “The tabloids know that these kind massively over-hyped stories will strike a chord with readers”, states spokesman for the Muslim Council for Great Britain, Iniyat Bunglawal, “the people caught in the middle are minorities”. Bunglawal agrees that such tabloid practices are “irresponsible,” and they do not bring ethnic groups closer together. “There is no denying that tension has increased and the far right are trying to cash in on this”.

Are we losing our Britishness?

From a perspective based on tolerance: yes. Tolerance after all is a definitive quality of the British, according to Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

The embellishment of key truths is evidently rife with The Daily Express’s anti political correctness campaign. Such misrepresentation distorts perceptions on a mass scale whilst the sensationalist claims are successful in dividing ethnic groups further. Majorities are lead to believe that British traditional values are now in the past tense, whilst minority groups feel victimised.

Although PC itself is not the reason behind why we are losing our Britishness, tabloid provocation has everything to do with it. As a result, society is becoming increasingly intolerant of each others’ differences and, as a result, becoming increasingly segregated. “The obsession with cultural differences makes segregation more acceptable”, remarked investigative journalist, Kenan Malik, “when groups start to feel oppressed and resentful, extremist outlooks soon follow. Once you accept the mindset that we are all competing groups, it starts to make the extremist British National Party (BNP) look legitimate.”

In spite much negative media attention, the British National Party is proliferating from campaigns that play on peoples’ fears of Britain losing its identity, and are aided unknowingly by the tabloid press. The BNP’s top priority is to “preserve traditional British values and restore British traditions.” The continuation of such tabloid practices will certainly encourage this bleak prospect.

This begs the question, are the lies for which we pay really worth it, and could we lose too much for believing them?