Saving the Union to Death? Gordon Brown and the Evacuation of Britishness

Citation

Hames S (2015) Saving the Union to Death? Gordon Brown and the Evacuation of Britishness. The Drouth, (53), pp. 6-16. https://issuu.com/drouth/docs/scott_hames_saving_the_union_to_dea/7?e=10523491/32050210

Abstract
First paragraph: From heartbreak to swagger inside eight months: the mighty resurgence of the beaten Yes campaign will dominate future histories of this period. But the matching plunge in Unionist sentiment is equally interesting, and may prove more significant, over the long run. If the SNP mega-surge is best understood as an emotional reaction to September 19, an uncorking of pressures specific to these times, the depth of Unionist foreboding suggests a more essential political depletion. Allan Massie observes that 'Scottish Unionists have come to regard their victory last September as only temporary. It's as if they had built a dam already being battered by the rising water; it's holding for the moment but more than likely to be swept away'.

Keywords
Scottish devolution; Scottish Unionism; Britishness; nationalism; Gordon Brown

Journal
The Drouth, Issue 53

People

Dr Scott Hames

Senior Lecturer, English Studies

• Author's version