Gisela Stuart, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, on why we should be proud of being British as well as English...
Lets start by making one thing clear. Of course we should be proud of our English culture and history. And we could begin to show this pride by celebrating St Georges Day properly on April 23.
But this does not mean that we should not also be proud of being British. Its not a case of one or the other its a case of being proud of both!
Across the world it is in the countries of the English speaking peoples where democracy and freedom have reigned longest: these are the countries that led the way against tyranny.
Or as Dr John Sentamu, the outgoing Bishop for Birmingham, put it in The Birmingham Post this week: It is a place that has allowed reason to be at the heart of all these things, that has allowed genuine dissent without restoring to violence.
The English have been more reticent than some other nations to assert the values that underpin their way of life. Maybe this failure of the English if it is a failure stems from a predilection for understatement, but it also reflects the very extent to which English values and traditions have spread beyond our shores.
If an Australian is asked whether he believes in freedom, democracy and tolerance he does not reply ah no mate those are English values.
They are values shared by all other liberal democracies of the English speaking world and a number of other nations besides and as such can only play a limited role in establishing English identity.
This is where the notion of Britishness is so important: it is essentially a political identity. The great genius of the British and French polities something they have in common with the United States was that a nation was successfully created out of allegiance to political institutions.
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This has allowed those nations to become, to a greater extent than most other European countries, multi-cultural and relatively tolerant.
Britishness is defined by the very institutions that have made Britain what it is; such as Crown in Parliament, the common law and the Bill of Rights. When I take up my seat in Parliament as the Member for Birmingham Edgbaston I swear allegiance to her Majesty the Queen.
Why? Because the concept of Britishness is not just about race, but about institutions and their underlying values. This allows people from all walks of life, colour, language, religion or ethnic origin to come together and create something to be proud of.
We should never forget that we are the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. When our Olympic team marches into the stadium it carries as its flag the Union Jack, but when we play football we wave the Cross of St George. And the county cricket team in my Birmingham constituency carries the bear and staff of Warwickshire. Its horses for courses.
The political nature of Britishness, which is all embracing, is what has made us such a powerful force for good. When you talk to someone on mainland Europe they talk about England and Britain as if they were one and the same thing. No doubt this is something which irritates the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish.
If you are from Birmingham you are proud to be a Brummie, you are proud to be English and you can and should be proud to be British as well.
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