Is it only the english who call themselves british? you never hear a scot saying he/she is British do you?

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stephanie c

I say am English not British.

Chadders

I'm English and proud of it and I'm sure Scots are proud of being Scottish, the Welsh are proud of being Welsh and the Irish are proud of being Irish.

clint_slicker

Most English people I know call themselves English, the same goes with Welsh, Irish and Scottish. If I needed to talk about belonging to the combined kingdoms or all the countries then I would use Britain.

British means that you are a citizen of Great Britain, a bit like saying you are an American. If you wanted to be more specific in where you came from you could add the state like Missourian. would calling yourself a Missourian make you less American?

Angel Eyes I hope that was meant sarcasm otherwise you really need to read more history and geography.

LISA M

I am a scot (and I can spell it too!) I am scottish first and then british, is that not the way it should be?

Avondrow

I'm a Scott and often refer to myself as British or Brit!

Typical, the English always generalise!

fantasia.

We can still be British even if we are not English. Surely anyone from the British Commonwealth is entitled to call themselves British? If the Scots or Welsh dont want to be known as being British that is up to them but they should be proud of their heritage and what was once the British Empire.

Hibee

Well, it was the Scots (in the 19th century) who came up with the idea of renaming Scotland as "North Britain", and England as "South Britain", but it was the English who refused to have anything to do with this.

If you don't believe me, try Googling "North British" and "South British", and compare the number of hits.

So we don't need any lectures from you about who is more British.

gypsy

I was born and bred in South Wales and have lived in Scotland for the past 4 years and always refer to myself as British.

Big T

Anyone from the United Kingdom is British, but a Scot may like to be known as "Scottish", just as a person from e.g. Lancashire may like to be known as a "Lancastrian". It doesn't signify anything world shatteringly important.

sparkle

You do get Scottish people saying they are British. The problem being, people tend to think they are English.

Some people consider Britain as just England (I've noticed this a lot, even by English people)

I call myself Scottish, as that is the country I am from. Britain isn't one country. Its just general and you could come from anywhere. Do you just say your British? Why is that? Hmm?

I'm proud to be Scottish, why should I hide behind the term British?

When it comes to things that are British (like sports teams etc) then yes I use British. Its not that I'm not proud to be British.

I just prefer to call myself Scottish.

And actually you proved a point. Even on British tv, Britain is just England. Do you not think that annoys us too?

And we know about the English flag.

PETE

I've know plenty of Scots who were happy to be described as British as well as Scottish. Ultimately Scots and Welsh are all British whether they like it or not.

jackie m

I'm from Scotland but my passport says British.

Air Travel XPERT!

I'm English and I call myself British, my Dad is Scottish and he calls himself British, and my Nan is N' Irish and she calles herself British.
I think the answer is... yes.

lukee

British is the most inclusive term to refer to people from Great Britain - England, Wales and Scotland collectively.

UK in contrast includes Northern Ireland as well.

Maybe its used most about the English because England is so dominant within Great Britain (50 million out of the total 58 million British population) so that over 86% of British people are from England (in contrast Wales has a population of 3 million, Scotland 5 million) (Northern Ireland, part of the UK, has 2 million) and so if you spoke to 10 British people randomly selected at least 8 of them would be English.

floppity

It's only really foreigners who call themselves British. I am English, thats it. If you are Welsh then you are Welsh, Scottish you are Scottish etc.
The reason a person might say they were British is if they are trying to be Politically Correct!

dramaqueen

My Welsh boyfriend often refers himself as British - it just depends what it is he's talking about. Some things are specific to the Welsh or Scottish or English character, whereas some are more universally British.
I consider myself both English and British, and again it depends what I'm talking about.
I think generally in the media when they say "UK" they mean the whole of the UK - if they mean England they will say England. I think you're seeing something that isn't there.

It is fine to be proud of being British and English at the same time, as it is fine to be proud of being both a son and a father. One doesn't trump the other.

Father Jake

I travel frequently and often to America. I NEVER call my self British...always English. In fact I am more likely to call myself European than British. Britain is a meaningless political invention as far as I am concerned...it is also artificial.
The 'celtic mafia' keep banging on about how different they are without realising that 70% of English people are celtic as well!!!

While I am on a rant!....British Airways are rubbish and I NEVER fly with them!

louie3

thats just pc crap-scared of offending the scots etc.

im english and i say im english, on equality forms i always say other-white english. this is not racist cos i would expect the form to be filled in asian english, or whatever.

we are english and why have scotland northern ireland and wales got there own parliament when we havent? our taxes go all over the uk-yet we r the only ones without our own parliament!!! discrimination i say!!!!

our leaders are white middle class men who sit in their ivory towers terrified of offending any minority group, or of losing their seat. they are all so focused on the 'trendy'm issues like global warming that they dont seem to realise that i, as a voter, dont care!!!

i care that when my son leaves school there wont be a job for him because we have sold of all our industry and what we have got we have let johnny foreigner take over

i care that my children arent safe on the streets, if its not paedos its chavs with knives or drunk drivers

i care that if my kids do mange to get a job they wont be able to buy a house anyway!!

england for the english (and i dont just mean whites, so dont cry racisim, i do include anyone who considers themelves english)

Jordana T

im welsh not british - you wouldnt call yourself european would you even though we are in europe !

DMsView

Well, I'm English first, then part of the United Kingdom then part of Europe. Nothing else, no other order.

Sarah H

You do hear of Scot's saying British, but as the Scottish poster has proven above....they do still seem to have an in built hatred of the English.

Quite pathetic really....expecially considering very few English think as little of them as they do of us.

Shame really....scotland is a wonderful place...the best on earth...shame some of the people dont want to share it!

Sad Eyes

Scotland isn't part of England thus it ISN'T British nor are it's people. While Ireland IS owned by England, the people there still prefer to be call Irish.

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