Disclaimer
This article includes insights and analysis generated with the assistance of an experimental AI. While efforts have been made to ensure factual accuracy, readers are encouraged to cross-reference information from multiple reputable sources.
Note: This article was drafted before the recent, highly publicised incidents involving the St. George’s Cross. This new development, however, serves as a powerful and unfortunate illustration of the core argument made within this piece. See addendum for update.
The question of national and regional identity is a complex one, constantly reshaped by history, politics, and personal experience. This article explores a growing sentiment—the feeling that a traditional national identity, in this case, “English,” has become detached from the realities of everyday life. For many, a sense of belonging is no longer found in national symbolism but in a deeper, more authentic connection to their local heritage. This piece delves into this shift, contrasting the modern concept of Englishness with a revitalized sense of pride in being a Northerner and, more specifically, a Yorkshireman.
The Identity I Do Not Feel: The Economic Case
The longer I live, the more I find that the label “English” simply does not fit. It feels like the name of a country that cannot decide what it wants, perpetually chained to ridiculous ideas that have little to no bearing on my life or the lives of those I know. Time and again, the central government denies funding for the very services we need to survive, all while pursuing projects that seem designed for a world we do not inhabit. The data bears this out: a 2022 report by IPPR North highlighted that if public investment in the North had matched London’s over the preceding five years, the region would have seen an additional £61 billion of spending on crucial areas like transport, infrastructure, and skills [Ref. 1].
A data-driven comparison reveals a stark and persistent economic divide. Over the decade leading up to 2022/23, London received £1,183 per person in transport investment, while Yorkshire and the Humber received a mere £441 per person [Ref. 5]. This is not a statistical anomaly; this is a policy outcome. It is a pattern of neglect. It is a story of unequal opportunity. It is a reality of systemic unfairness. The cancellation of HS2’s eastern leg to Leeds, a project vital for regional connectivity, was another potent symbol of this disparity. As the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee reported in January 2024, following the cancellation of the Northern phases, HS2 now offers “very poor value for money to the taxpayer,” a clear admission of its failure to deliver on its initial promise to the North [Ref. 5].
Why does this matter? Because these are not just numbers; they are the tangible costs of a fractured identity. They are the reasons why a report from the British Academy in 2024 stated that geographical inequalities are more severe today than at any time since the Second World War [Ref. 6]. They are why analyses from groups like the Institute for Government and Yorkshire Universities have been critical of the “Levelling Up” agenda, noting its lack of clarity, ambition, and long-term commitment. We feel a profound and authentic connection to this place, yet we are constantly faced with evidence that those who govern us do not feel the same way.
I do not feel English. I feel like a Northerner. This is a region with a distinct identity, and its ancient kingdom of Northumbria still seems to pull the overwhelming majority of the weight in the UK’s economy. Yet, everywhere you look, it gets shafted by the central government. Most of all, I feel distinctly like a Yorkshireman.
A Symbol of Our Own: The Cultural Case
As a younger man, the White Rose and the Yorkshire flag were convenient symbols of identity. Now, I am proud to see them wherever I go. They have come to mean something more—a symbol of a shared identity, a common foundation, and a deep, historical sense of pride that can be relied upon.
The St. George’s Cross can never be those things. The flag itself was originally a Crusader symbol adopted from Genoa, a distant Italian city-state, and is indelibly tied to the Christian and Catholic church. The idea of a Christian England, a state religion, St. George, and Arthurian myth no longer reflects the reality of a modern, multi-faith society where most people claim no faith at all. These concepts belong in the past where they can be appreciated as history, not as a living symbol of a nation. What’s more, the flag’s meaning has been irrevocably marred and stained by acts of groups people would rather forget. For years, groups like the English Defence League (EDL) have co-opted the flag to promote an agenda of nationalism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia [Ref. 3]. While support for such groups may have waned, the stain on the symbol remains. It has become, as The Guardian wrote, a flag that “marks you out as a certain type of person” and a symbol that has been “tainted by association with the far right” [Ref. 4]. These are stains that will never come out in the wash, and the racism that caused them is still far too readily apparent in the politics of this land. It is time we left it in the past.
Public opinion polls confirm this cultural chasm. A YouGov poll in 2024 found that while a majority of English adults have a favorable opinion of people flying the flag, a significant 24% of English adults hold an unfavourable opinion [Ref. 9]. This division becomes even more pronounced along political lines. A Lord Ashcroft poll from the same year found that while 2019 Conservative voters were four times more likely than Labour voters to choose the St. George’s Cross, those leaning toward Reform UK were the most likely of all to identify with it [Ref. 10]. This demonstrates that the flag is not a unifying symbol for all of England but a partisan and divisive one. The White Rose of Yorkshire, by contrast, remains a symbol of pure regional pride, unburdened by political or ideological baggage.
A Story Rooted in Reality: The Philosophical Case
The problem with the St. George’s Cross and the identity it has come to represent was put rather well by Tolkien in a private letter. He once spoke of the difficulties in writing stories around Arthurian myth, a subject C.S. Lewis was of profoundly different opinions about. When I figured out that Lewis’s books were a metaphor for God and Christianity, I was both disappointed in him as a writer and unsurprised by the amount of hand-wavy nonsense in his stories. This is a powerful analogy for what we’re facing now. The St. George’s Cross and its associated myths are like C.S. Lewis’s work—a convenient symbol for a manufactured “Englishness” that is rooted in a political and religious idea, not in a real, living, and breathed-in culture. Tolkien, on the other hand, understood that a good story, like a good identity, has to be rooted in something real, ancient, and deeply felt. It is in this spirit that we must move forward. We will champion a story and an identity rooted in the earth, the history, and the people of Yorkshire. This is not about anger, but about a profound and joyful embrace of who we are. For us, a phrase like “God’s own county” is not a religious proclamation but a humorous testament to the natural beauty of our home, a secular reverence for a green and pleasant land that is entirely in keeping with the nature of Yorkshire. The research report notes that this phrase encapsulates a “deep, resilient, and authentic connection to Yorkshire’s unique heritage, landscape, and people” [Ref. 5]. It is the beginning of a new chapter, a testament to a lasting legacy, and a call for a stronger, more authentic voice for our home.
Addendum: The Flag, A Symbol of a Broken System
The actions of the Reform Party, in their renewed public campaign, are a cynical and offensive demonstration of the very injustices this article decries. By co-opting the national flag and using it to justify a xenophobic agenda, they have confirmed the necessity of finding alternative symbols of identity. As the article states, my personal preference for the Yorkshire flag is precisely to avoid the racist connotations that have increasingly been attached to the St. George’s Cross, particularly by groups like UKIP, the BNP, the National Front, the EDL and ultimately the blackshirts of the BUF as all these groups are ultimately different names for the same thing. Recent surveys have highlighted this growing perception, with a quarter of adults in England reportedly holding a negative view of those who fly the St. George’s Cross. A separate poll also found that one in eight Labour voters considers the flag to be “racist” in a political context.
These recent acts—illegally painting crosses on historic monuments, placing them in conservation zones, and leaving them attached to public lampposts which qualifies as litter—are not acts of patriotism but of performative defiance designed to incite racial division. They are a cover for a racist and nativist agenda, carried out by a minority of extremists. Media reports link the “Operation Raise the Colours” campaign directly to far-right figures and their supporters, confirming that this is an organized effort, not a spontaneous display of public pride. What’s worse is there have even been more aggressive acts of criminal activity tied to these events including crimes as severe as rape, proving these people are not here to help anyone but themselves.
I do not condone these actions. Instead, I wholeheartedly recommend that people publicly call out this criminal and unethical behaviour in all its forms. It is vital to challenge the myth that these extremists represent the views of the country and instead show they are no more than a minority that uses the self-same flaws in our system they claim to want to change, to capture far more media attention than they deserve. By condemning their actions, we can show this minority what our nation truly thinks of them and reclaim our public spaces from their hateful agenda.
Ultimately, as I’ve stated before, England is a broken concept. It is time we gave it up and celebrated our collective cultures and their differences as what they are, rather than trying to force a stamp of over 2,000 years of oppression on it.
References
- IPPR North Report. (2022). State of the North 2021. The Guardian.
- Resolution Foundation. (2019). Election 2019: how Britain’s North-South divide is changing.
- English Defence League (EDL). Wikipedia.
- The Guardian. (2018). Is flying a St George’s flag an act of patriotism or a symbol of all that is bad about England?
- Yorkshire Identity Research Deep Dive. (2025). The Research Report you provided.
- The British Academy. (2024). Transforming the UK economy requires a transformed regional policy.
- Institute for Government. (2022). Levelling up: the IfG view on the white paper.
- Yorkshire Universities. (2022). Yorkshire Universities responds to the Levelling Up White Paper.
- YouGov. (2024). Quarter of adults in England have negative view of those flying St George’s cross.
- Lord Ashcroft Polls. (2024). Which flag do people in Britain think represents them best?