Ashamed to be British?

The crisis over Brexit has seen widespread invocations of national humiliation, of shame, indignity and embarrassment. These have come from both leavers and remainers: one poll in March 2019 suggested that 90% felt that the UK’s handling of Brexit had been a humiliation. Leavers profess themselves ashamed of the post-Imperial weakness revealed by May’s showing in the negotiations with the EU, remainers feel shame at the intolerance revealed and amplified by the campaign and referendum vote themselves, while all kinds of people claim to be ashamed of the often farcical scenes and processes of the House of Commons, broadcast to a newly inflated global audience, all conveniently live-streaming our national disgrace.

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