The first thing we need to do is get rid of the idea of ‘British’. Scotland has its fierce independence and own culture. Wales has its own keen sense of identity. Ireland has its own ideas either side of the nonsensical* border. These remain lands conquered but never assimilated by the London City State.

We English have always struggled with a sense of national identity. There is a long history of resentment and inequality on the North/South divide and as a people we can’t even agree on what to call a bread roll!

But what the English do have, unique amongst the nations is a strong sense of hyper-locality and community. We are less a country and more a conglomeration of counties. To really discover England you have to go right down to the cheese rolling and well dressing festivals of country villages and suburban fetes.

Asked about it we would sigh about our country but happily talk for hours about Yorkshire or Dorset. We don’t promote how certain inventions are English but how they came out of Lancashire.

So perhaps the issue is not /being/ British abroad but rather being /considered/ British when in reality there is no such thing? I wouldn’t say I’m proud to be British or even English but I will tell you that my home county of Derbyshire is home to areas of such natural beauty it’s not worth going anywhere else :)

*I don’t belittle the sectarian split at all and understand it’s historic importance. But in reality the difference between north and south is largely semantic: 2 different denominations of Christianity, one of whom owes fealty to the Pope and the other the Crown which are symbolic positions.
This is a religion that promotes a ideology of tolerance, forgiveness and peace.