England’s Identity Crisis

England’s men's football team is once again preparing to shoulder the hopes of millions across the nation. A World Cup is traditionally a time to come together in pride and unity but this tournament takes place in a tense and divisive political moment, when the question of who is – and isn’t - English is being fiercely contested.

Should Englishness be linked to ancestry and ethnicity, to living in the country for generations as senior political figures, including a former Home Secretary, are claiming? Should anyone living in England be able to claim national identity? Is Englishness conditional? If so, on what?

Waves of protest at mass migration and multiculturalism have given a new edge to this debate. On the eve of the World Cup, fans are preparing to fly St George's flags as a signal of collective pride. But the red and white banners mounted on lampposts and motorway bridges have become a symbol of division in communities.

Who does the flag belong to and who decides?

Newsnight's Political Editor Nick Watt reports from the frontlines of the battle for Englishness and asks where it is leading.

Producer: Leela Padmanabhan