New Model Island: How to Build a Radical Culture Beyond the Idea of England

by Alex Niven

In the early twenty-first century, "Englishness" suddenly became a hot topic. A rash of art exhibitions, pop albums and coffee table books arrived on the scene, all desperate to recover England’s lost national soul. But when we sweep away the patriotic stereotypes, we begin to see that England is a country that does not — and perhaps should not — exist in any essential sense.

In this provocative text combining polemic and memoir, Alex Niven argues that the map of the British Isles should be torn apart completely as we look towards a time of radical political reform. Rejecting outdated nationalisms, Niven argues for a renovated model of culture and governance for the islands — a fluid, dynamic version of regionalism preparing the way for a new "dream archipelago".

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Cultural

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2010

About the author

Alex Niven is an English writer, poet, editor, and former musician.

Niven was a founding member of the indie band Everything Everything, with friends from Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham, Northumberland. He played guitar with the band between 2007 and 2009 before leaving to study for a doctorate at St John's College, Oxford and pursue a writing career.

Niven's first work of criticism, Folk Opposition, was published by Zero Books in 2011. The book attempted to reclaim a variety of folk culture motifs for the political left, and excoriated the "Green Tory" zeitgeist that had accompanied the ascendancy of David Cameron's Conservative Party in Britain in 2009-10. His second book, a study of the Oasis album Definitely Maybe, was published in Bloomsbury's 33⅓ series in 2014.

Formerly assistant editor at New Left Review and editor-in-chief at The Oxonian Review, Niven has also written for The Guardian, The Independent, openDemocracy, Agenda, The Cambridge Quarterly, English Literary History, Oxford Poetry, Notes and Queries, The Quietus, and a number of collective blogs in addition to his own blog The Fantastic Hope. His first collection of poetry, The Last Tape, was published in 2014, and his poem "The Beehive" provided the epigraph to Owen Hatherley's 2012 architecture survey A New Kind of Bleak.

He is currently Lecturer in English Literature at Newcastle University and an editor at Repeater Books.

Reviews

[Adam Becket · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bit bittersweet post-2019 election

[Rob M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short book, which advocates for a left engagement with the question of nationalism in terms of the regional diffusion of economic and political life. It perhaps suffers from itself being a tad diffuse in its analysis, self consciously flitting between auto-biography, fragments of literary and pop cultural analysis and political theory. However, Niven, a proud follower of Mark Fisher, has not quite successfully emulated the late, great theorist's ability to seamlessly integrate dense intellectualism with breezy, relatable analogy; sometimes New Model Island's switch from conversational to academic modes is a little jarring.

Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the New Model Island is the deconstruction of "Englishness" as an idea, holding it to be a hollow, dead centre in the middle of a much larger web of imperialistic activity. We get the sense that Englishness has become such a problematic identity because, outside of the imperial metropolitan core - London - there is precious little ballast to give it substance.

In this context Niven argues that the spirit of the British regions, whether Scotland and Wales or Cornwall and Northumbria, provide firmer foundations on which to construct a national identity for a progressive political project within these islands.

[Sylvia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This polemic/memoir tries to discuss how we might think about England and going 'beyond it,' so to speak.

I know immediately that the format of the book will be this slightly informal approach, more like a long essay considering the length. But I don't think I reached any new conclusions from this and it was a bit all over the place for me.

Niven's writing is very much that kind of Zero/Repeater press style of writing, with many notable authors such as Rhian E Jones and the late Mark Fisher mentioned constantly throughout (especially Fisher). Niven also has a literature background and it shows from the oft-repeated references of various books that he has read, which was a criticism I saw for his latest book on 'Northern heartlands' too. Although this can work when describing the brief period of discussions on moving beyond England during the first Blair government from 1997-2001 (the strongest chapter), it can also be a bit much and come across a bit like 'look what I've read,' when that's what bibliographies are for.

There are some tidbits of new information (and band recommendations) I got from this at least, including the aforementioned chapter on 1997-2001, which mentioned a think tank report discussing re-naming Britain to Pretanic. Niven does a good job in that chapter at describing the unique situation of the time such as the Scottish and Welsh devolutions and the attempts at English assemblies (including the majority 'NO' vote on a referendum for an assembly in the North East of England in 2004). But then there are parts about how Britpop and Cool Britannia was more an aesthetic 'Britishness,' and a bit more diverse and welcoming which I think is very flawed, including just 'recalling' an Oasis interview ('I can recall - but not source') to back this up.

Exploring his Northumbrian identity sets up some interesting notions around attempts at moving beyond England, including the limitations of regional identity and how easily it can be co-opted by the far-right, but it is a bit under-developed and I would have been curious at any left-wing, anti-fascist Northumbrian projects (esp. having friends who do refer to themselves as Northumbrian), or how 'progressive English nationalism,' has become more popular in reactionary 'left-wing' groups/parties, including some brief attempts to rectify this via the approaches from the Castilian Left. He briefly mentions the 'second city,' attempts such as in Manchester, but even by 2019, I think there was something worth discussing about the neoliberal commodification of (northern) regionalism and how it appeals to the Home Counties more than anyone in these areas.

Solutions in the final chapter are all over the place, yes there is a worry about just straight up 'Balkanisation,' but also the alternatives include a HS3 line connecting the major cities of England, Scotland and Wales and/or making Carlisle a 'soft power' city to help connect the nations together. English assemblies are mentioned again, but again, there is not more development on these ideas which can feel like I just read something that basically says 'some kind of regionalism/federalism, but not quite.'

There are some seeds to these ideas of moving beyond England, including some emphasis on the role of culture, but it just kind of fizzles out so we can have some 'lyric chapters,' that are essentially the memoir parts of the book, which include some patronising descriptions of his autistic friend and colleague, Robin Carmody.

Overall, I was hoping for more and I don't think I got it. You might learn some things from this, but I don't think it's essential reading on thinking about moving beyond England from a socialist standpoint.

[Billy Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a few things to admire in this, but it leaves much to be desired. There is undoubtedly some truth to Niven's claims that nations are intrinsically retrograde and an antiquated means of social, political and cultural organisation. To bolster this claim, Niven builds a case that argues that Englishness is a hollow, purely utilitarian construct, contrived as a way to ideologically undergird its imperial expansionism. The decline of empire, a phenomena that a great many people still haven't quite reconciled themselves to, ushered in the dissolution of this construct. The result, for Niven, is that England has become a 'sheer geopolitical void'. Indeed, Niven dramatically extends this sentiment in his assertion that England 'doesn't exist'. Some chapters also contain some moving writing on the discomfort of cultural deracination, couched in lofty language sensitive to lived experience.

Yet, there are some glaring errors and contradictions which are thrown into sharp relief by the imperiousness of the author's delivery. The astonishingly crass reading of Dylan Thomas, oblivious as it is to a decade-spanning critical legacy, which hems Thomas's endlessly rich and complex poetry into a reading that supposedly evidences 'the negative deadness of England and Englishness’, is so heedless of a convention-busting poetics, not to mention the fact that Thomas was born in Swansea and produced most of his work in Wales, that it defies belief. It makes one wonder how a clearly intelligent author could overlook something so strikingly obvious.

Elsewhere in the book, even as Niven lacerates the cultural torpor of Englishness and enthusiastically extols the vigour of Scottish, Welsh and Irish culture, Niven unreflectively fails to consider how each of these constituent nations may have their own internal differences, pressures and conflicts, not to mention their own languages. Indeed, his rather claustrophobic reading that the Celtic periphery developed 'reductive nationalisms as a sort of oppositional defence mechanism' is quite telling. Just as England is de-homogenised and de-essentialised, its national counterparts are unthinkingly essentialised as reactionary, homogenous others.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raises some interesting ideas that are very important, and does so in a way that is often creative and conducive to further questioning. I suppose I also liked how personal the book seemed, and the mingling of that with the exploration of the hollowness of "English" identiy. However, at parts it seems too shallow or vaguely theoretical - more like an extended blog post than book - which lets it down. I'd struggle to really recommend it to many people, and I imagine if I did it'd specifically be chapter 4 I recommend.

[Georgie Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

an incredible read which is even more poignant following covid and considering the dire state of british politics right now the concluding page left me mourning the hope that we briefly had in 2017 with the rise of Corbynism. 100% recommend to anyone interested in politics or ‘english’ culture

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fought to stay motivated to continue reading New Model Island as I struggled to recognise and relate to a lot of the British cultural and political references used throughout the bulk of the book BUT I am glad I continued to hear the interesting and creative solution Niven proposes for a new governance of the islands.

Although I consider myself British I felt pretty disconnected from a lot of what was discussed. But I’m sure those who are able to relate more will find this to be a sharp and detailed critique of ‘Englishness’.

[N M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read anything like this before. What a lovely blend of personal, political and historical, and only 150 pages long <3 Though I wasn't fully sold on the central thesis I still thought is was a persuasively and optimistically argued. In particular I was receptive to a socialist ideal of Levelling Up which looks beyond the reductive boundaries of the 'Home Nations'.

[Michellelester · Rating 4 out of 5]

In just two years, that final page has crashed from offering what would have been a glimmer of hope in 2017 to something that is already obliterated, nostalgic and as romantic as the visions Niven elsewhere vilifies. It says something that a book published just last year can already seem so out of date. And yet the solution he proposes is one the Labour Party with its new leader might do well to attend to. Let’s face it - anything’s got to be better than the horror we’re currently facing!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is England, really, and does it matter? If it is, like all nations I suppose, just a ‘construct’ then why not build something new? Niven lays the groundwork for these questions to be asked and then gives a single answer to what might be.

New Model Island takes a while to get going. In fact 30 pages in I was not sure what the book was about and where it was going. It felt like the publishers had indulged the author. It is sprinkled with meandering, memoir-style first person accounts and although the author give advance warning of this, they were still jarring when encountered and in retrospect seem superfluous. This harms what is already quite a short book with quite a narrow outlook on the world.

When writing about the main subject matter Niven questions the legitimacy of popular English identity, whether geographical or genetic. He pits ideas regionalism against those of nationalism and even internationalism, transcending the idea of the nation state itself. Internationalism is the word here rather than globalism because even though the subtext of his contemporary critiques is an attack on the effects of neoliberalism, he fails to properly address its primary consequence - globalism. We are of course living in a world where Stoke-on-Trent is not so much competing with London as it is with a rival industrial town in the Far East. Therefore levelling out is not magic bullet for Stoke-on-Trent or the declining north.

A genuine levelling out of the United Kingdom archipelago will require, ironically given the subject matter of the book, an entirely different idea of what the nation is, and its relationship to the world. Nevin’s arguments boil down to one (spoiler alert) – hardcore devolution via the effective breakup of England, not to mention the entire United Kingdom. He does not go on to explain how this would be a net benefit to the ‘archipelago’ in a globalised world.

New Model Island’s narrow outlook fails to address the economic potential of integrating with the broader region, namely mainland Europe. Also, the cultural basis of his arguments practically ignores that postwar immigration ever happened. Where is this critical element of English, British or ‘archipelago’ identity?

This is my second Repeater book in succession and like its predecessor, promises more in its title than it delivers.

[James A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the solutions and exegesis behind the non-existence of England. It’s so important to navigate cultural identity by trying to look forward rather than backwards, as Englishness has done. Many of those cultural artefacts are gone and won’t come back.

Slightly less enamoured with the navel-gazing stuff about who he was meeting and when but I’ll accept it.

Some other collected and related thoughts :

The Preston model and the Police authority in County Durham provide interesting examples of where a Labour administration has focused on their locality, used innovative policy and been rewarded electorally, against national trends. Both areas are lauded for their operations locally and have sought to communicate this to people in their area on an ongoing basis. Alongside the growing prevalence and controversy of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (which often occur without community consultation), these successes speak to Anoosh Chakelian’s (New Statesman) assertion that place and space will become the big dividing line in British politics. With the local election results producing such a division between England, Wales and Scotland it really makes little sense to talk about the electoral politics of Britain in any concrete sense. Therefore, with the demise of the UK, it will become more important to put forward a vision of place that doesn’t fall back on a mythical unified England but, as Niven asserts, the create alternate centres of gravity for policy and polities.

Roll on HM Treasury Darlington campus 😅

[Andy Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m learning a lot about culture and history from reading Alex Niven’s writings. His 2019 book, New Model Island, is an insightful and often prescient polemic on how to build a radical culture that goes beyond England and Englishness and looks to a better, more equal and just society based on regional dynamism, solidarity and hope. Niven nails his colours to the mast when he says that his book and his ideas are based on a deep-seated personal and political conviction that “our whole society is rotten at its roots and simply can’t continue in its present form”. As with much of his writing, Niven puts a lot of himself into his books and they are all the better for that. Highlighting culture, including popular culture, to illustrate his points, he’s never shy of delving into his record collection to back up a proposition or a theory. And good for him for doing that! The book ends with Niven basking in the twin glows of Labour’s unexpected near miss in the 2017 general election and the excitement and wonder of new parenthood. At least one of those glows is keeping him sustained in the uncertain times we currently face! As ever though, Niven’s writing gives you hope and always inspires - as well as teaching you a thing or two along the way.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great essay on English identity - how it has seen a resurgence in recent years (not all of it from the far-right, as Niven is quick to point out) and whether it can form the basis of a radical political identity. Niven's deconstruction of this English identity, its sources and ideologies, is for me the strongest part of the book. It's interwoven with memoir and reminiscences of the blogging community that coalesced around the late Mark Fisher and lyrical digressions on specific poems, albums and personal experiences. Some of these latter pieces went over my head a bit - but it's a very intriguing mix and it makes more a more thought-provoking read than your usual polemic. By bringing in his personal experiences Niven prevents the book feeling like a dry academic exercise and bolsters his argument by giving us a point of identification -after all, who hasn't felt the weary alienation that he describes as being so often a feature of life on these islands?
I feel like authors of these books must feel compelled to finish with a section offering a more positive, constructive political programme - in this case it actually doesn't feel too tacked on.

[David Toms · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful manifesto for not just reimagining the governing of and existence of England as a place but the whole of the archipelago of which it forms part and is a future-oriented book rather than one that nurses only the wounds of the past. It also acts as a kind personal history by Niven of the currents of thought that emerged in the period from the 00s to the present that brought us Zero Books and since Repeater and other left-oriented organs.

Fundamentally, it argues for the strength of regional strength and autonomy and for a better distribution of power and all that attends it to provide for a fairer future. A must-read for anyone who might be interested in imagining the reorientation that might be required in the event of a future united Ireland both in Britain and even the island of Ireland itself where a United Ireland would mean a reorientation of power centres.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a shimmering walk through recent and ancient British history, holding your will up against the modern brand of fatalism that has begun to consume not just our politics, but our very cultural essence.

An interesting read indeed, and for all the author’s claim that Englishness is increasingly anachronistic, a deeply Northern English one too. Interspersed between memoirs, memories, and nostalgia for the heady days of the pre-2008 bubble is an unoriginal, but no less intriguing for it, set of notions about the future shape of English/British/Pretanic society. A new hepta/nonagenous conception of how things ought to be that is both deeply alluring in its scope, and slightly unsettling in how oft we’ve escaped its clutches thus far.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little book which picks apart the paradox of 'England', suggesting a progressive regionalism in place of reactionary nationalism. Niven's thesis is very much grounded in cultural and historical contexts, and skirts around the more practical aspects of governance. Nevertheless it marks the beginnings of a radical vision of place and identity within left-wing thought.

The prose is meandering, moving through biography, manifesto, and lyrical explorations, yet manages to remain engaging. As other reviewers have noted, the final few paragraphs in which Niven allows himself some hope after the result of the 2017 election hit particularly hard in the wake of 2019 and the reclamation of the Labour party by bland technocrats devoid of ideas.

[Alice Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, especially the touching memoir elements and the creative geographic reimagining of the islands. However I found the lack of even a passing mention of climate change really strange and increasingly frustrating as the book went on. Given that the book presents a future vision of the country set within the current context of Brexit, Trump, crises of late-capitalism etc how can you not consider the huge social, political and geographic upheaval that will result from imminent climate change? It would have fitted nicely into some of the threads e.g around intercity rail travel so felt like a missed opportunity.

[Ell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow simultaneously too diffuse and too narrow. Niven spends a lot of time flitting, which doesn't quite work for a 150-page book, but where he gets to the point, it's very engaging, even if you don't 100 per cent buy the thesis. I really enjoyed the deep dive into Alton Towers (although I thought it was strange that he uses that chapter to name four 'structures of feeling' that sum up English identity, and then never mentions these concepts again). Anyway, some interesting ideas. Well worth a read.

[James Bellorini · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oddly liberating book looking to the future that has, sadly, been already undermined by the tide of English history in 2019. However there are some very intriguing ideas at the heart of this book which takes a renewed look at what England means as nation, culture and myth and attempts to provide a new, invigorated proposition for what it could become.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and convincing cultural case for regional devolution but it really needed to have a more detailed plan at the end for how the region's would work and how it would be sold as a political priority to voters.

That said, it is one of the few books on this subject, and hopefully if its intention was to spark a debate, it will succeed.

[Ruari Paterson-Achenbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really special little book! Powerful call to arms to reinvent our concept and perception AND practical formation of England. Useful both as a political reimagining of cultural and geographical lines, and also just as getting a better picture of critical theory in the UK over the past 10 yrs or so. Very beautiful memories of Mark Fisher.

[Emma Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at how we organise and prioritise social systems, welfare, equality. Written before Covid, so some of it could need updating now, but an honest attempt to set out what is wrong with capitalism and current society and then move on to reform (or revolution, possibly, given the likely backlash from industry and multi national corporations), and the creation of a better future.

[Fionn McGorry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly curious foray in to the linguistic, literary and cultural backgrounds of England and Englishness which destroys the myths of a coherent English polity since at least the Act of Union and definitely the industrial revolution. A strong set of proposals for a radical regionalism.

[Old Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thankfully England still exists and more of us now identify ourselves as English rather than British.

[WM Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but unfulfilling - is actually more interesting when the author writes personally, because the 'theoretical' points are half-baked and speculative.

[Eurethius Péllitièr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, rich in some history and invoking ideas of culture. The solutions in the conclusion are the most inviting.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yaaaaasssss let's rethink what it is to be British, and how we think about our archipelago! I really enjoyed this, and would recommend this book

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and at times touching book which creates a compelling regionalist argument, we love to see it!

[Johnnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2021/06...