Identity parade

IN 1924, speaking on St George’s Day, the then prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, gave thanks that for once he could refer to England “without some fellow at the back of the room shouting out: ‘Britain!’” Even then, the tendency of the English to forget the other nations of the United Kingdom irritated the politically correct.

The distinction between Britain and England continues to confuse tourists; the natives furrow their brows, too. Filling in their census forms in 2011, some 60% of people in England gave their national identity as “English” only, whereas 19% gave it as “British” only. (The remainder were from another part of Britain, foreign nationals or claimed multiple national identities.) But, as data released on May 16th showed, there is great variation. Whether a person considers himself English first or British first is a powerful predictor of class, race and political persuasion.