Do the right-leaning patriots of the UK refer to themselves as “British” or “English”?

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Dailymailflagshagger@reddit

Sorry I'm late. English! Always English because anyone can become British with a passport!

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No one really uses English, the only time we used it in the army was to differentiate on t shirts us from Welsh and Scottish units with similar names but it was an unofficial thing. We are British, I’m patriot but not to the extent that I feel the need to get angry with people. We are an old country and very comfortable in our skin and institutions.

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BastradofBolton@reddit

I’m from the north west and the vast majority of white Brits would identify as English first (probably specifically northern English)

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nonsequitur__@reddit

Agreed

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Ancient_hill_seeker@reddit

I’m from north east no one really talks about it.

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PatchyWhiskers@reddit

English if they are English, but remember that England isn't the whole of the UK and there are plenty of right-wing Scottish and Welsh people.

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pcor@reddit

It will never stop being funny to me that the place where right-wing nationalists deck their streets out like this is always an afterthought, if mentioned at all, when it comes to “Britishness”.

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atheist-bum-clapper@reddit

Flegs

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pm_me_boobs_pictures@reddit

Nor iron

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11theman@reddit

An English nationalist is much more likely to say they’re English. That said, I’m not a nationalist and I’d describe myself as ‘English’ before saying ‘British’ came to mind though both terms apply.

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nonsequitur__@reddit

Yeah I am definitely left of centre and would refer to myself as English, apart from on the internet as British/Brit just seems more commonly used. Neither have meaning to me in terms of identity. I just say English as that was how it was always described as a kid, and it becomes habit.

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leninzen@reddit

"English" is what nationalists from England call themselves. Most of them are pro Britain as a concept but will look down on the other home nations and probably prefer a St George Cross on their house than a union flag.

(British) Nationalists from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland will call themselves British to differentiate themselves from those who don't want to be ruled by the British state.

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pcor@reddit

”English" is what nationalists from England call themselves.

Only if they want to be arrested and thrown in jail, these days…

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After-Dentist-2480@reddit

When did this come in?

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leninzen@reddit

😂

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Verbal-Gerbil@reddit

A true patriot will call themselves United Kingdomish

(it's not too well known by all including here - Britain is the island that is made up of Wales, Scotland and England, and the full name as per the passport is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

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Breakwaterbot@reddit

Piss of with these kind of questions. What's happening to this sub?

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Lee_M_UK@reddit

Mainly in my experience English people refer to themselves as English. Not many people would use British unless they’re unionists and they tend to be from Northern Ireland. Scots, Welsh or Catholics from Northern Ireland would never use British

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PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit

I think it's regional, I hear British far more often than English, and I think English has certain connotations.

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MrDemotivator17@reddit

Yeah, English can sometimes sound a bit… EDL-ish

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Jack-Rabbit-002@reddit

I get this it's really odd Because I was born and raised in Brum but because of mostly Welsh stock by blood I'll refer to myself as British Just because I know my Cousin's on the other side of the Severn wouldn't see me as Welsh

Though there are some English, Irish and Bengali amongst us

Which is weird as my Son I'll label as Polish because I didn't see him growing up and he moved back with his Mom

It's really weird how we define ourselves and others

(Was raised Catholic though hate Westminster as much as all those you've listed 😆)

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Quazzle@reddit

Depends heavily on what imagery they are trying to evoke.

English and British are not mutually exclusive identities.

In the right wing context you’ve referenced:

‘Englishness’ is usually used to appeal to working class people in England and sometimes by groups with a distinctly white supremacist slant to them. Think National Front, EDL, Tommy Robinson etc.

Whereas ‘British’ would be used when trying to appeal to nostalgic view of a past British Empire Golden Age with less of a focus on race and more a focus on general conservatism e.g. modern Conservative Party and Reform.

To clear this is just in the context you asked about. Those identities are not purely right wing constructs.

Personally, I’d call myself centre left political and I identify more with British than English. But that’s because I have family history in Ireland, Australia, India as well as England. So the British label fits me better and has nothing to do with politics.

But identify is of course very personal.

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Feisty_Outcome9992@reddit

Well we have Irish, Welsh, Scottish and English nationalists. Some of these may use British and some would defiantly not. Then there those who are British nationalists, from any of the four countries, but an English nationalist is more likely to use British and English.

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prawntortilla@reddit

Both but I think theres more patriotism around British

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Drewski811@reddit

https://images.app.goo.gl/b5Yg1

Normally, English. But it'll depend upon their context

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qualityvote2@reddit

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