Spot on

Who are the British nationalists? A great post on the new British Nationalists in Wales Watch blog. The author claims that the Labour party have a problem with being branded as a Brithish nationalist party.

So, if a person who believes Wales has the moral right to become a nation state with its own head of state, a seat at the United Nations and full member-state status of the European Union is called a 'Welsh nationalists', then, it stands to reason, logically, that a person who believes the same moral right exists for the 'British' imagined community should be called a 'British nationalist'.

It's the tactic of all nationalisms which are the nationalisms of the dominant imagined community to paint the aspirant nationalism of nations within the state as dangerous, racists or abnormal. That's the tactic throughout history from the Russians in the USSR, to the Turks viz a vis the Kurds; the French ascendency within the Belgian state against the Flemings; the Indonesians against the East Timorese.

I find it funny how the three British parties refer to Plaid Cymru as 'the Nationalists' even in the debating chamber although all the other parties are given the repect of having their party names used (with the exeption of the Conservatives perhaps who are sometimes called the Tories). Although I'm not a memeber of Plaid Cymru, I consider myself a Welsh nationalist and don't see anything wrong with the term, but the use of the word by these parties is intended as an insult I think. The thing is they are also nationalist parties themselves as their belief is in what they see as the British nation where as Welsh nationalist believe in the Welsh nation and he people of Wales.