Political Communication and British Identity

There's been a lot of media chatter recently about the apparent disappearnce of a 'British Identity' with calls for lessons in 'Britishness' to be introduced in schools. This recent debate seems to me to fall in to a pattern of concern about the disintegration of communities and society in general. I wonder whether the situation is that bad and if it is it woudl be interesting to see how political parties might try to tackle it. How can you have a coherent political message which appeals across a broad sepctrum of society when communities are apparently increasingly disconnected? Throughout this blog i've also been considering the effects of politcial marketing in promoting self interest among voters. Of course accepting this arguemnet ineviatbly means that you believe that political communications strategies employed over recent years are central to this breakdown in society and national identity. Is the call for a renewed emphasis on British identity a desperate attempt by politicians to reverse the effects of their own strategies over the last 25 years?

Political Speeches on British Identity:
Gordon Brown speaking at the Fabian Society on 14 January 2007
http://www.fabian-society.org.uk/press_office/news_latest_all.asp?pressid=520

David Cameron speaking in Birmingham on 29 January 2007
http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=134759