ABSTRACT
By treating Brexit as an extended event that pre- and post-dated the referendum of 2016, this chapter analyses the links between Euroscepticism and a politicised English identity. Expressions of this identity were grounded in the imperatives of a historically informed understanding of English nationalism in its traditionally integrative and novel secessionist guises. The historical imperative of English nationalism – the ideas that inform the traditions that shape responses to political dilemmas – should be understood as one primarily conditioned by a defence of British sovereignty. The integrative element of this nationalism results in an instinctive, if weakening commitment to the Union amongst the English even if political elites remain wedded to the idea of a United Kingdom. However, as a result of resistance to European integration, English nationalism developed a secessionist dimension unheard of in its previous history but that was nevertheless grounded in long-standing notions of English exceptionalism that connected England to parts of the world beyond Europe.
