Sadiq Khan: I'm so glad we have reclaimed St George's flag from the far-right"England is a nation small in size but grand in vision. On this day of celebration, it is an opportunity for people to come together and mark with joy our country’s traditions, culture and history.
The England I know and love is a country where we are proud of our heritage and our heroes. Where we look after one another, especially in times of crisis. Where we cheer each other’s triumphs. And where we take pride in remembering all that we have achieved. We are a nation which gave birth to parliamentary democracy. One of our proudest daughters pioneered computer science, one of our proudest sons invented the World Wide Web. We are responsible for giving the world the words of Shakespeare and Jane Austen, and the songs of The Beatles, Amy Winehouse and Stormzy.
For me, the greatest feature of our country is the limitless opportunities it affords its people. This country gave me – the son of a bus driver and seamstress – the chance to go from a south London council estate to being Mayor of the greatest city in the world. Serving as Mayor of our nation’s capital is a profound honour and privilege because it is a chance to support Londoners to meet their potential, just as I was supported throughout my life.
As well as celebrating our successes, St George’s Day is often a time when we discuss what it means to be English. History shows it is not always easy to define. Many will recall the reductive, cruel Tebbit test – coined by the former Tory MP and Cabinet Minister – which sought to determine the strength of allegiance of all South Asian and Caribbean immigrants and their children by which cricket team they cheered. It is of course entirely foolish to believe that a person’s loyalty to our nation can be measured by the feelings invoked by a badge on a set of cricket whites. It is measured by a commitment to protect our democracy and the rule of law, to preserve our institutions and to uphold shared values like respect for others, equality and justice.
One of the many great principles underpinning our country is that we can have multiple identities and are not subjected to a bogus loyalty test, where we are forced to choose between our flag and our family history, our home or our heritage. I am a proud son of Tooting, I am proud to be a Londoner, English, British, of Pakistani ethnic origin and
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