Our Story
‘A very English chat’ works to tackle England’s growing social division and polarisation with a simple response to a potentially difficult and divisive question around ‘What does it mean to be English in 2026?’
We ask you to identify five objects that signify what Englishness means to you in 2026 - using the idea as a starting point to make it easier to have respectful conversations around the subject.
Asking what does being English mean can be a big daunting question. To inspire or stretch your thinking we freely share a ‘Conversation Starter’ containing a cross-section of other people’s five objects explaining their sense of their England story. For anyone wanting to explore even deeper or wider we also freely share a ‘Toolkit’. It provides tools to further stretch your own ideas as well as better understand other people’s perspectives of your shared national identity.
You’re invited to share your five objects to be included in a virtual ‘pocket museum’ telling ‘The story of England 2026 in 50 objects’. Do share your five objects here
The ‘pocket museum’ will tell our collective story of England, co-created by you and others, in a range of creative media from a deck of cards, posters, giant outdoor screenings, and even tea towels, telling a story of England created by its people celebrating its values of inclusiveness, fairness, and respect for democracy and law.
‘The story of England 2026 in 50 objects’ will be launched ahead of this year’s St. George’s Day celebrations on April 23rd.
"We need to celebrate the positive things we have in common for recognising the sense of community that comes from the identity and values that we share in this place called England. Through listening to each other, we can find that common ground from which to resist hateful division."
Billy Bragg
Musician & activist
"This project could not be timelier and more important. With the UK more divided than ever, by bringing individuals and communities together to share their own reflections on national identity, we can discover far more compelling and inclusive stories of who we are and who we can be."
Caroline Lucas
Author & Environmental Campaigner
”We need to celebrate what we all have in common. When people talk about what they value, what they trust, and what they share, it becomes easier to build understanding. I’m glad my suggestions of the local bobby and war memorials made the final cut of the 50 objects.”
Sir Sajid Javid
Partner, Centricus Partners LP, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
"At a time when conversations about identity can so easily become polarised or exclusionary, this initiative offers something generous, open and unifying. England has always been shaped by layers of history, culture, creativity and dissent. To explore that richness through shared reflection, feels both necessary and hopeful. It reminds us that England isn't just something that is but something we can continually make."
Kojo Koram
Author & Academic
"English identity is being pulled apart by fear and exclusion, our feeling of who we are is collapsing before our eyes. Our senses of belonging feels more fractured than ever, in this moment conversations become an act of care. Talking, really talking, is how we bridge divides, hold complexity, and resist the urge to think our sense of belonging comes at the expense of each other. Our culture has always been built from conversations; historically in the coffeehouses then at the pub, with the kettle on, even between festival tents! Making space for these conversations is how we rebuilding the cultural foundations we need to face grief, climate collapse, and political fragmentation together, its how we begin to reimagine belonging to each other, this country and the land again."
Daze Aghaji
Environmental Activist & Reality TV Star