Jonah, read your depressing piece on the old country with a lot of interest. If I have a moment, I’ll try and post on Enoch Powell later, but, for now, It’s worth noting though that – except on special occasions such as coronations, royal weddings or our periodic victories over the French and the Germans – Brits have always been less prone to flagwaving than their counterparts on this side of the Atlantic. Partly this comes from the traditional, and commendable, British reluctance to show too much enthusiasm for anything, but partly too it’s because of the monarchy. Lenin, I think, once referred to the Czar as a ‘living flag’ and in many ways that holds (or, more accurately, held) true of British monarchs too.

That said, there’s no doubt that the Union Flag has been through the wringer in recent years – not least for some of the reasons you cite. Partly due to football (’soccer’), there has, however, been something a revival in the English flag, but that’s a topic for another time too…