On 10th November thousands of bikers dressed in red rode around the 117-mile clockwise carriageway of the M25 to pay tribute to the war dead on Remembrance Sunday. Anton Shelupanov was one of the participants. Here he tells British Future about what it was like to join the so-called M25 poppy and why commemorating the first world war remains important today.

“This is not a celebration; it is a commemoration. There will be no triumphalism or jingoism,” Culture Minister Helen Grant concluded at the House of Commons debate on the commemoration of the first world war held on Thursday 7th November. The emphasis on getting the tone right, while seizing the opportunity of the centenary to deepen understanding of local, national and international history was a recurring theme, writes Sunder Katwala.

As part of the Festival of Englishness co-hosted with IPPR, British Future commissioned ICM to conduct polling about English identity to decipher how people feel about the England flag and other hallmarks of English identity. The headline figures make for interesting reading.

British Future completed a busy party conference season, visiting Glasgow, Brighton and Manchester as we attended all of the main party conferences in 2013. Here is a brief summary from our events.

The final panel at our Festival of Englishness with IPPR looked to England’s future and concluded with a positive vision for the nation, writes Steve Ballinger.

The English see themselves as a nation of charming chancers battling against the odds, misusing French to sound ‘posh’ and sipping cocktails in the local boozer, but certainly no longer snobs. At least that is what our latest polling says ahead of today’s festival of Englishness – with Derek Trotter of “Only Fools and Horses” named as the comedy character that best represents Englishness, writes Steve Ballinger .

On Saturday 19th October British Future and IPPR are co-hosting a “Festival of Englishness” to address a question which is becoming increasingly central to the Britain’s national conversation: who defines themselves as English and what does it mean when they do? Featuring top political thinkers and figures from English culture, sport and comedy, “England, my England: A festival of Englishness” will examine exactly what English identity means today and what its implications are for people in this country.

England and Arsenal footballer Jack Wilshere this week suggested that only English-born players should be eligible to play for England, pitching into a media debate about which national team the young Manchester United player Adnan Jaznan should play for. His views are out of step with most of the country’s sports fans, writes Sunder Katwala.

St Patrick’s Day has firmly established itself on the annual calendar in England, with the help of a certain brand of stout, but England’s own patron saint’s day, St George’s Day, is a much more sedate affair. Why isn’t it bigger? What is stopping those in England from celebrating Englishness?