In other words, his offer is for conceptual rather than physical Englishness.

BBC: British or English �C a false choice?

"What Englishness can't do that Britishness can do is appeal unambiguously to people of different ethnic origins, " notes Janan Ganesh, political correspondent for The Economist.

BBC: Can the teaching of history make us more British?

In between those two poles, there is evidence suggesting a link between the rise of Englishness and feelings of being ill-served by the status quo.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

Mr Blunkett, who said he had found the experience of editing Today "fascinating", also hosted a discussion about manufacturing industry and a debate on Englishness.

BBC: John Humphrys and David Blunkett on Celebrity Mastermind

Others say that the separate promotion of Scottishness, Welshness and Englishness, already achieved through sports such as rugby and soccer, offers better prospects than trying to reinvent Britishness.

ECONOMIST: Will New Labour succeed in reinventing Britishness?

His latest album, England, Half English, explores themes of Englishness.

BBC: St George in the 21st Century

Added to this appealing Englishness are flashes of otherness.

BBC: The last piece of England

In its variety, its superficiality, its solitary night walkers and its jumbled juxtaposition of public and private spaces, you could argue that it is the beating heart of Englishness.

ECONOMIST: Englishness

Some of Mr Ackroyd's theories of Englishness are intriguing.

ECONOMIST: Englishness

Gold has denuded the play of any semblance of Englishness and class, an issue that should be central to the argument between the bullying, blue-collar Jimmy Porter (Matthew Rhys) and his browbeaten middle-class wife, Alison (Sarah Goldberg).

NEWYORKER: A Talent to Abuse

Englishness is the subject of a tussle.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot