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St George is so 14th Century. I think before him we had St Edmund the Martyr or St Edward the Confessor. I can never remember which. But both were English and their remains can be venerated here by anyone so inclined. St Edmund (bits of him) are at Arundel and Douai Abbey, Berks. While the...

The argument used to be put that we had a St Patrick's Day Parade, why did we not have a St George's Day Parade? I am not entirely out of sympathy with this, but the truth is that most English people aren't interested. You might as well ask why we don't have an English Madonna of the Rosary...

People talk about Burnham as if he's the Fuhrer. He's actually under the effective control of the elected leaders of the 10 Greater Manchester Councils, who together form the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. If you get rid of his post, you will just get one of these in charge instead...

Just as the really hard lads don't tell you they are hard, the really patriotic don't call themselves patriots. 'Standing as I do in view of God and Eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.' Nurse Edith Cavell, the night before her...

It's almost having 'austerity' for over a decade and slashing budgets to ribbons has an effect. Fancy that!

The CPGB (ML) are mad as hatters. Like all the other Communists, they supported Brexit. No further evidence, m'lud.

Something must be done. This is something. Let's do that. Rarely will you see a better example of this process. It astounds me how people attach themselves to such policies that - apart from any question of humanitarianism - simply will not work. It would probably be just as effective to fine...

You mentioned Germany and Italy, not me, and asked whether they should change their flags. As it happens, they did. If you want a flag to be our symbol, it has to unite us all. A flag that is seen as divisive (in some quarters) will require work. You cannot compel, you have to persuade...

I think you'll find that Germany no longer uses the Swastika on a red background as its national flag, and Italy no longer has the fascist symbol on its flag. The only argument for changing the UJ is that it does not represent Wales. We could add a dragon. However, I still say it needs to be...

They need to be 'reclaimed' from the far right. That may take some time. Sadly, there is still a strong association between passion for the flag and far-right views.

I remember our history teacher (just shy of sixty years ago now) distinguishing Americans and British people. He said that US citizens all but worshipped their flag as it was their symbol of unity. British people didn't give a shit if you shined your shoes on the Union Jack. The Queen, he said...

Yes; and he ought to do. It's a direct, public attack on his integrity and clear libel - unless the accusation can be proved, which I very much doubt.

The underlying problem is that Truss was chosen by Tory members - probably because she was white and had a vague resemblance to Thatcher. The Tories are no longer a mass party. Their membership in no way reflects the general population. Not even the general population that broadly thinks of...

People who have not been mentally ill have no idea at all what it is like. Trust me on this. I had no idea myself until it hit me. There are, of course, degrees of mental illness. My wife has a cousin who is just totally incapacitated and every so often has about six coppers out to overpower him...

The people who take the piss most 'work' in a big building in Westminster. The one with a clock that bongs. A good third of them are complete fuckwits who wouldn't get a job except for their 'connections'.

How is the **** Sunak qualified to judge whether someone is mentally ill or not? The average GP struggles. It's a specialist area. Each person needs to be under a consultant psychiatrist, that's the level of expertise you need. There's more chance of us all being given our own butler.

Why the Carabao Cup is Europe's Premier Trophy. (Except when City win it.)

It's probably not practical because of 'too much football'. I wish it were. As far as I am concerned, they are scrapping the wrong things. Get rid of pointless international friendlies instead. They could also simplify the European competitions instead of making them even more complex. As they...

Sick making. I'm sick of them constantly changing the format of football, pretty much on a whim.