"It's a pity there can't be an English equivalent of the SNP and Plaid Cymru - nationalist without being racist, and well to the left of the present Labour Party"

There's way too much anti-English feeling for this to ever happen. Every time the idea is floated there are cries of 'racist' and 'right-wing', and you'll never get away from that. I don't think you could express English nationalism, in fact I can't see how you could (think back to the reaction of Roots by Show of Hands).

Too much baggage from the past.

Unless . . .

We could shrug off the Norman Yoke and declare a republic and start again - from the left!