We’re not all “right” Jack and never were!

I’m going to speak at a St George’s Day dinner for a local branch of Rotarians, so I thought I’d set my stall out by pointing out that you don’t have to be racist just because you’re standing up for England. I then read Jack Straw’s article in the Mail and thought, “no dammit, I’m not going to apologise for something that doesn’t need an apology”.

Some politicians, especially those of the centre-left, often attempt to smear any expression of Englishness by making an association with the far right. If there is no connection, they make one up and Straw’s article is a classic example.

He purported to tell us to celebrate St George’s Day but began by telling a story about meeting a BNP (it's “buh” for Britain Jack, not “eh” for England) thug on a doorstep. He somehow managed to weave in the murder of Stephen Lawrence and spent much of the article banging on about St George being “one of them” (Jack’s words not mine) because he was a Persian who wandered around the middle east before dying in what is now Turkey. So what Jack? You’ll be casting doubt on the validity of the Dragon next.

So, why point out George’s ethnicity? Is he trying to make us more “inclusive”? England is one of the most (the most?) inclusive nations in Europe and certainly the most ethnically diverse in these islands. Maybe he expects us to recoil in horror, then seek out a more racially acceptable saint? (How about St. Patrick? He’s English). No, I think he was just slinging mud by making associations where none exist.

In short, we don’t have to claim Englishness from the far right because they’ve never had it.

I’ve rewritten my opening sentence and it now reads “I am a member of the Campaign for an English Parliament, but I am NOT a 280 Pound Easter Bunny”.