Brown waves the flag for 'true' Britishness

Gordon Brown today buried Labour's much-derided "Cool Britannia" initiative with a speech hailing true Britishness as decency, fair play, tolerance and liberty.

The Chancellor backed the traditional notion that national identity is drawn from historical events and centuries-old characteristics.

He said there was a pressing need to "rediscover from our history" a strong sense of Britishness to unite the country to succeed as an economy and to face the threats posed by terrorism.

"People feel a need to be rooted and they draw strength from shared purpose," he said, delivering the annual lecture to the British Council. "If people are to cope successfully with often bewildering change then a sense of belonging is vital. And that, in turn, depends on a clear shared vision of national identity."

Mr Brown quoted historical figures, including Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli and Edmund Burke, to put a traditionalist view.

It appeared to be a deliberate counterblast to the Cool Britannia project launched by Tony Blair in 1997 which tried to "rebrand" the UK by playing down historical institutions.

Mr Brown also said the Union flag should be reclaimed from extremists such as the BNP and flown "at every opportunity" as a symbol of unity.

He listed a love of liberty as the oldest British trait. A sense of duty and of fair play were also key characteristics which had led to "a deeply ingrained British tradition of public service".

"I would suggest that it is because different ethnic groups came to live together in one small island that we first made a virtue of tolerance, welcoming and including waves of settlers - from Saxons and Normans to Huguenots and Jews and Asians and Afro-Caribbeans, and recognising plural identities," he said.