English, Muslim, European – and Proud of Every Part of My Identity, writes Sir Sadiq Khan
30 April 2025, 21:00
Last Wednesday, many of us flew the English flag with pride as we marked St George’s Day.
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In London, we hosted our festivities in Trafalgar Square, with a family-friendly celebration paying homage to England’s rich culture, history and traditions.
As Mayor of London – and as a proud and patriotic Englishman – I’ve always been passionate about ensuring our capital city not only recognises St George’s Day but does so in style.
Growing up, I wasn’t always comfortable around the St George’s flag.
It was a time when, first, the National Front, and then the BNP were on the march, and it sometimes felt our flag had been co-opted by them.
But for me, everything changed one glorious summer during Euro '96. I’ll never forget watching England dismantle the Dutch 4-1 at Wembley.
It was an exhilarating performance that led to an outpouring of joy and euphoria. And after the final whistle, tens of thousands of us waved the red cross with gusto and embraced while chanting ‘football’s coming home’.
In that moment, it felt as if our flag had been reclaimed and recast as a symbol of national unity. Something that no longer belonged to the hateful few, but to the decent majority.
In the years that followed, there’s no doubt we made real social progress as a country.
We became more liberal and inclusive in our understanding of national identity as Englishness and the St George’s flag covered – and were adopted by – a wider cross-section of our diverse society.
Increasingly, we came to appreciate that our people could have multiple identities. For example, I’m proud to be a Londoner and to be English, just as I’m proud to be of Pakistani and Asian heritage, and proud to be European and someone of Islamic faith.
In my eyes, these identities don’t contradict one another. They make us who we are. There’s no tension between patriotism and pluralism.
This idea has long been accepted by the British public.
And it’s not surprising. We all know Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Lauren James, Eni Aluko and Kelly Holmes can each represent our country, be English and each be proud of their own heritage.
But we cannot be complacent as there is a concerted effort to normalise views that were once rightly consigned to the fringes.
We saw this as the debate unfolded around whether the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – someone who, when you close your eyes, sounds like the quintessential Englishman – could ever truly be English.
That was a thoroughly depressing episode, but also revealing of the fact that for too long, politicians, leaders and others, have not done enough to make the case for a progressive patriotism, ceding ground to the populist right and far-right.
Of course, it’s difficult to pin down exactly what it means to be English. It’s a fluid, not a fixed, concept and one that has developed over hundreds of years, absorbing many different people and ethnicities.
To some, it’s about manners and mannerisms. Cups of tea and cricket. Paddington, our green and pleasant land, and – of course – penalty shootout heartbreak.
To others, it’s about fish and chips, Sunday roasts and chicken tikka masala.
We are the country of Shakespeare and Stormzy; Jane Austen and Anthony Joshua.
Modern England is a tapestry of various cultures, faiths, histories and influences – bound together by the values of democracy, decency, fairness and respect.
It’s a place where we are not forced to choose between our flag and our family history, our home or our heritage - a country that is proud of its history fighting fascism, proud of its NHS and key workers, and proud of its diversity and inclusive ethos.
There are so many reasons to take pride in being English. But as we celebrate everything that makes our country so great, we must always be on our guard against those whose so-called patriotism seems to be less about love of country and more about hatred and exclusion of others.
I have faith though that the quiet majority will always choose proper patriotism over poisonous populism. It’s in our DNA – and one of the reasons why I am proud to be English.
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Sadiq Khan is the Labour Mayor of London
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