British state is rather dull and uninteresting (5)
I believe the answer is:
bland
'rather dull and uninteresting' is the definition.
(bland means boring or simple)
'british state' is the wordplay.
'british' becomes 'b' (abbreviation e.g. in 'BBC').
'state' becomes 'land' (synonyms).
'b'+'land'='BLAND'
'is' is the link.
(Other definitions for bland that I've seen before include "Unruffled but unstimulating" , "Insipid; lacklustre" , "without distinctive characteristics" , "Mild; dull" , "Suave" .)