THE enforced removal of England's national flag from the wall of the Derby Arms pub in Bury (Bury Times, Oct 11) raises, once again, the current debate concerning this country and its people.

These islands are currently going through their most far-reaching period of constitutional change in almost 300 years, so it is hardly surprising that people are now examining their connection with the place in which they live. For many the national flag, the Cross of St George, smacks of old racism, and they quietly mutter the word English, unsure if it can be used in polite conversation. Ask someone if they are proud to be English, and you may as well be asking them their favourite sexual position!

Such problems do not seem to afflict our friends north of the border. Whilst those who reside in Scotland typically remain in no doubt about their Scottish identity, those of us in England are a little more ambivalent. The recent British Social Attitudes survey noted that whilst 80 per cent of people in Scotland identified themselves as Scottish, only 41 per cent of people in England identified themselves as English.

So who are we? Indeed, are we a "we" at all? Clearly we are, in Daniel Defoe's words, a "heterogeneous thing". However, there are times when we seem more able to articulate our connection with this place and this is never more apparent than when there is an international football competition.

In the past international football has been remembered for its hooliganism, based on the wrong kind of nationalism. For years, the Cross of St George was hijacked by the National Front. It became the ultimate symbol of racism. Many people felt they had to cast the exclusive flag of St George aside. However, as these islands reach a period of change and redefinition, so it appears do "we".

During the 2002 World Cup no-one could have doubted the enthusiasm and surge in pride which flooded this country. Walking through the streets of Bury, you couldn't help but be amazed by the number of St George flags flying proudly from the windows of pubs, homes and businesses, not to mention the plethora of stickers, flags, and shirts. Manufacturers found ingenious ways of making the symbol of England attractive and saleable, plastering the logos on clothing. How could this flag of shame now be a fashionable logo?

The relationship between flag and people is a complex and thorny issue. However, for many it simply signifies a place. The people who live here are beginning to reclaim the St George flag as their own, regardless of race, culture or ethnicity.

It is, as it should be, a matter of choice. Yet by insisting upon the removal of the Cross of St George from somewhere as commonplace as the local pub, creates its own risks. Let's hope such decisions are made for good legal reasons and are not inadvertently flagging up past misinformed ideas about who "we" are.

Dr JACKIE ABELL,

Place and Identity Research Group.