It's an interesting time to be British. With Scotland a hundred days away from a vote on independence, the term could be due a radical overhaul. So we thought it would be worth finding out what our readers thought of Britishness, regardless which corner of the United Kingdom they called home.

As was to be expected, we received a multitude of different answers. But clear themes emerged - and here are ten of the most notable. You can add your own thoughts on British identity via our GuardianWitness assignment, or in the comments thread below.

1) It's an inclusive term

'This is the moment we married.' Photograph: Greendeskbruce /Guardianwitness

If one positive theme emerged from our call-out, it's that our readers see Britishness as an inclusive umbrella term to cover a multitude of backgrounds.

This [the photo above] is the moment we married. My children have Scotland, Wales, Iraq, India, Pakistan and Zanzibar in their blood. We live in Croydon and our family extends to every inhabited continent on the planet. Our friends are from all points of the compass. We are global and local in one room. Whether you look at the British Empire with shame or anger or pride this is what it does for us now, it is our history that drew us together and it shapes our Britain. We are IndoScots, PresbyterianMuslims, we are London and like Tom Jones, we're not unusual.

Greendeskbruce

I'm Welsh but I've been living in England for nearly 30 years. I don't see a problem with regarding myself as Welsh and British. My concern is, if countries go independent, will those who have come from abroad feel pushed out of society? I know an Asian restaurant worker who doesn't feel English at all but does feel British... yet he's only ever lived in England. 'British' is a helpful catch all term for all of us... especially those who don't feel English, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or Scottish.



steffworthington



2) ... but it can be quite confusing

Do you feel United Kingdomese? Photograph: gwane /GuardianWitness

First time I went to America, I wrote 'English' as my nationality on my VISA waiver form. This was wrong. It turns out I'm United Kingdomese.

When someone abroad asks "Where are you from?" Do you say, I'm British, a UK Citizen, from Great Britain, English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, or from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? Do you then try to explain that the 'Great' refers to the largest island and is really not a delusion of grandeur. Multiculturalism is fine but we do we have any shared culture? Even The Guardian opens the page with a photo of a German van.

JohnBea



If my cultural identity were an ice cream European would be the cone that holds it, the ice cream would be British isles flavour and the sprinkles would be English, Lancastrian, Blackpudlian.



hesychast

3) Its meaning needs to be updated

Polish foodstuffs in a local shop. Photograph: iamnotprincehamlet /GuardianWitness

Where Nigel Farage might fulminate at this proliferation of Polish cured meats in my local corner shop, I see exciting diversity. Here's to multicultural Britain!

iamnotprincehamlet



As a group of nations under the British state, I think we need to do more to celebrate our multiculturalism. Not just in the conciliatory nods that the press sometimes give to the many different ethnic identities of London, but across the whole of our four different nations. In Wales, Scotland, and Ireland we could do more to explore our Celtic heritages whilst also admitting that as part of the British state we have become cosmopolitan nations with a several linguistic heritages where people from all over the world have travelled to. We can share in the different ways of life that immigrating peoples bring to us, not shut them out in anxiety

alliedlama



4) British shouldn’t just mean English...

British... or English? Or maybe it's because he's a Londoner. Photograph: BrigadierCrispbread /GuardianWitness

British and English are sometimes seen as interchangeable, to the chagrin of some of our readers. Particularly this one from Northern Ireland:

Too often, English people (I say this living happily in Liverpool, loving all my English friends) tend to believe that English = British. Too many times an English person has been talking to me and casually mentioned 'I guess that's me being British' without a hint of thinking the are talking to someone British. They mean English. Too often I have actually been asked is Belfast in Ireland or Scotland. It is ignorant. It is unfair to feel that I am not entitled to my own Britishness when in the company of English people. But that said, this doesn't have to be a problem. A little education would go a long way. I am British - I just need you to see me that way.’

Jennifer Fisher



Unfortunately, Britishness is often construed by the media as being terribly Anglo-centric, and I fear not even a kind of Anglo-centric that many English people can easily identify with, as it focuses on a narrow stereotype imagined by the disconnected bourgeois who mainly seclude themselves along certain stretches of the Thames Valley and the south coast. The inherent pride in a long lost empire, the stubborn boasts of achievements in sciences and the arts, the pretence that we are still a major world power, all of these things are what I feel people are told they should be proud of and feel connect to in being British.

alliedlama



5) ... But Englishness needs to be reappropriated

Billy Bragg: a progressive English patriot. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA Archive/Press Association Images Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA Archive/Press Association Images

If Scotland votes for independence, will Englishness have to be reassessed? Obviously there will be political repercussions and machinations, but some of our readers feel Englishness itself will need to be revalued and redefined.

I think that one of the things that drove me away from Britishness is the fact that England seems to be the Cinderella of the UK nations. It is true that it dominates the UK in terms of size and influence, yet it is the only home nation that is not allowed its own devolved parliament or assembly. Whereas the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish have considerable powers to manage their own affairs, England is ruled firmly by the British Government for the sole good of the UK state... I believe that Englishness should be a positive identity which is embraced and celebrated , yet too many English people still seem religiously devoted to a Britishness which seems to want to expunge Englishness as a nasty, dangerous anachronism.

Ricayboy﻿

6) You can be proud to be British without being right wing

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this being the Guardian, there weren't too many mentions of the queen (though there was one mention of Queen), but it was interesting to hear from British patriots a million miles away from the UKIP mould.

I love our warm-hearted, philanthropic, quirky and socialist past. I'm proud of the Chartists and the Suffragettes, Charles Dickens, Robert Owen and John Ball. I'm proud of the unions. I'm proud that we raised stiff opposition to Thatcher and of our ability to unite in the Second World War against fascism. I'm proud that we executed a king because we valued our rights, privileges and liberties more than monarchic tradition. I'm proud that we still slam the door of parliament in the face of the Queen's messenger, to this very day.

Stephanie Keeler

7) Britishness means tolerance...

Are we a tolerant nation? Photograph: Sarah Yewman /GuardianWitness

For me, the feeling of being British represents tolerance even the embracing of different cultures, ways of life, and opinions, as the definition evolves along with the people who live here. I feel very lucky to be living in such a nation, with the freedoms and opportunities we have.

Bobalobb



There have always been four things that have made me proud of living in Britain - a strong welfare state, the fact that we do not have capital punishment, the fact that we do not have national service and a welcoming attitude to those from outside Britain, from the Huguenots to Windrush. Long may those values continue.

AbsoluteBeginner



8) ... but some worry Britain no longer upholds these values

Have we lost our way since the 1960s? A trio of bowler hatted gentlemen shelter from the rain. Photograph: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd/Alamy Photograph: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd/Alamy

When I grew up [in the 1960s] there was a sense of progress: of everything getting better (if slowly) for all the people; of everyone working together for the common good and looking after the vulnerable; of helping working class children into higher education; a free health service, and decent housing for all. Since 1979, these advances have gone into reverse and the dominant ideology is of individual greed, exploitation of others, and scapegoating people & groups.

JeanMackenzie



9) Some would rather just not make a fuss.

Tea, scones, and not making too much of a fuss. Photograph: Joseph Christian /GuardianWitness

We also received our fair share of flippant - if witty - replies. For some, questions of identity just aren't that important.

Being English (and to a lesser extent British) means having no wish to loudly proclaim my Englishness.

reallyanavatar



It's not that complicated. If you want to broaden your identity, you'd probably say you were European or maybe from the Northern hemisphere or from the Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Universe, Space. That sort of thing. If you wanted to narrow it down a bit, to something a bit more manageable that makes you feel comfortable or irrationally excited, you'd say, I'm English mate, or Scottish, Welsh or Irish. If you narrowed it further you might say you were from, say, Worcestershire, or Worcester. If you wanted the postman or woman to identify you, you might like to give your address.

beggarsbelief



10) If there's nothing else we can agree on, there's always Philip Larkin outside a library with bicycle

Philip Larkin - poet - outside Hull University library where he worked as a librarian. Photograph: JANE BOWN/taken from picture library Photograph: JANE BOWN/taken from picture library

Positive British stereotypes mentioned by our readers included eccentricity, having a sense of fair play and a mastery of ironic humour. But one reader, when asked to define Britishness, simply replied: "Philip Larkin outside a library with a bicycle."

Add your own thoughts on British identity in the comments thread below.