Responding to the controversial dropping of Kevin Pietersen from the England cricket team, The Telegraph's political columnist Peter Oborne declared the impossibility of being born in South Africa and giving full loyalty to England. Sunder Katwala unpacks these remarks, arguing that once the invit
London 2012's opening ceremony evoked a 'gently fierce' national pride that was uniquely British in character.
Intimate 'boutique' festivals are mushrooming across the English countryside. Their biggest selling point: a sense of belonging. Is this a rejection of individualistic hedonism? Or the return of the pastoral, manufactured by the urban elite? One thing is certain - they are a sign of things to come
Danny Boyle's recently unveiled prototype for the London 2012 Opening Ceremony is centred around a nostalgic image of British countryside. But what do this model's myriad influences suggest about power, history and national identities across the UK?
The desperate construction of cultural Britishness observable in this summer's Jubilee and Olympics is just another attempt to conflate British identity with an idealised vision of England. The motivation for those in power is clear: to disguise the gaping constitutional issues that threaten the U
The Labour leader has set out his defence of the Union in a speech that appealed to his party to recognise England and show pride in the English. But is this enough, with Scotland considering independence and the English question waiting to explode?
The festivities around the London Olympics and Diamond Jubilee will paint a picture of a stable, timeless (simultaneously modern) Great Britain. But the Anglo-Britishness it appeals to is far from the present-day reality of contested identity and authority, in which England is preparing to speak.
John Davey argues that it's time for the English to take the initiative and put the democratically sclerotic British state to sleep.
Today, London will choose their future mayor, and cities around England will vote on whether they want to switch to the mayoral system. Does democracy benefit from the emphasis on individual character and personal power?
Will directly-elected Mayors be a blessing or a curse for local democracy in England? Can they redress the imbalance between London and the wealthy South East and the rest of the country?
In Britain, there is a country that is not officially celebrated: England. But it has a national day: St George's Day. This was yesterday, 23 April (also Shakespear's birthday by happy coincidence) and an active supporter of England gaining its own government sums up the mood.
Directly-elected Mayors in England will centralise power, deepen bureaucracy and lead to a politics of celebrity. There are better paths to the enhanced local democracy that we need.
