Howay man, seriously - if anybody finds this letter and sends a copy to Penguin Eggs, any chance of me getting a copy too?

As for those who're surprised by it:- in England of 1980, nationalism was on extremely shaky ground - having been co-opted by Maggie and her true-blue/rightwing/anti-immigration/mad-as-snakes cohorts - so it's hardly surprising Bob was arguing against it.