Archbishop of York: English people 'feel left behind' by the 'patronising' London elites
7 August 2021, 21:26 | Updated: 7 August 2021, 21:32
The Archbishop of York has criticised the London “metropolitan elite” for treating people who are proud to be English as “backwardly xenophobic”.
The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, the Church of England's second most senior clergyman after the Archbishop of Canterbury, has criticised those who "patronise" people for showing pride in being English.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the archbishop called for England to "rediscover a national unity" and urged for a strengthened regional government within the country to better serve local communities.
He said: "Many English people feel left behind by metropolitan elites in London and the South East, and by devolved governments and strengthened regional identities in Scotland and Wales.
"Their heartfelt cry to be heard is often disregarded, wilfully misunderstood or patronised as being backwardly xenophobic.
"What we need is an expansive vision of what it means to be English as part of the United Kingdom.
"It is this that will help us rediscover a national unity now more fractured than I have ever known it in my lifetime.
"A first foundation would be a more developed and strengthened regional government within England."
Read more: Scottish independence debate reignites 'in coming weeks', says SNP's Ian Blackford
Amid renewed debate about national identity and the relationship between the four nations of the UK, Boris Johnson visited Scotland this week to stress the strengths of the UK as a whole.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, has called for a second referendum on independence.
