Another day, another article about English identity.

Bryan Appleyard in today’s Sunday Times does a quick resume of the debate about England’s identity. He cites complaints that the dominant nation in these islands has had its identity taken from it. Now, the English are claiming it back.

I think he protests too much. It’s as if the English were looking for permission to take pride in their identity. They feel resentful that the Celts seem to have their identity sorted. They feel that English pride is seen as nationalistic, while Celtic pride is accepted as pure patriotism.

The English should be more relaxed. Identity is a complex matter, and is often linked to uncertainty as well as pride. We Welsh are notoriously tribal – South Walians are as likely to quarrel with their northern cousins as with the English.  If you’re English, fly your flag with pride. If anyone questions you, look at him in disbelief.

We need to reinvent relationships within these islands. A holiday in Dubrovnik, with memories of the brutal Yugoslav civil war still raw, shows how tame our own family arguments are. The Celts should let the English reinvent themselves. The English should take a relaxed view of their place here. Above all else, we must take pride in our inter-linked identities. Britain is a concept worth cherishing.