Brown calls for stronger Britain
Gordon Brown believes devolution is a major threat to the UK
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Saturday, 13, Jan 2007 08:43
Britain is better off without devolution, Gordon Brown has said.
Writing in this morning's Telegraph newspaper, the chancellor describes a growing threat from secessionists in Scotland, Wales and even England who seek a break-up of the union as it heads towards its 300th anniversary in May.
Mr Brown argues that a "stronger sense of patriotic purpose" is needed to help integrate ethnic communities, confront migration-related problems and strengthen the confidence of Britain's foreign policies.
Among the positive changes he calls for are the establishment of an "Institute for Britishness" and a "permanent exhibition of historical documents" reflecting the nation's history, together with changes to the national curriculum to boost newly-introduced lessons on citizenship.
"Other countries can learn from us getting the balance right between diversity and the strong common bonds that, at root, unify and bring us together. So, far from our union being an anachronism or in its death throes, we can be a beacon for the world," he writes.
As the man most likely to succeed Tony Blair when the prime minister departs from Downing Street later this year, commentators have pointed out the broad brush Mr Brown uses in this morning's article.
A wide range of issues are covered, including the economy, approaches to integrating communities and defence. He distances himself from political extremes by contrasting the policies of former Conservative prime minister Lady Thatcher with those of the "old left", which he says were "rightly ridiculed".
"We should remember that from 1707, the union was founded not just on the respect for diversity that devolution recognises, but also on institutions that brought us together," Mr Brown writes, mentioning parliament and the armed forces in the same breath as more modern bodies like the BBC and the NHS.
"It is now time for supporters of the union to speak up, to resist any drift towards a Balkanisation of Britain, and to acknowledge Great Britain for the success it has been and is: a model for the world of how nations can not only live side by side, but be stronger together but weaker apart."