Britain did not have a brilliant Olympic Games when London last hosted the Olympics in 1948, in terms of the medal table at least. The host nation won just three Olympic golds , all in rowing or sailing, which along with 14 silver medals and six bronzes left Britain ranking 12th at the end of the games. But those first post-war Olympics since Hitler’s Games in Berlin 1936 was a time when the value of taking part was never better understood. The Houses of Parliament figured prominently on the official Games poster designed by Walter Herz, a Czech refugee from fascism, as Dr Cathy Ross of the Museum of London has noted.

Scottish independence is not the only question surrounding the future of the Union, says guest blogger Glenn Gotfried.
As the United Kingdom embarks on a probable two year discussion surrounding Scottish sovereignty we will likely see questions surrounding the future of England arise out of the debate. A new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research shows that devolution is not only a matter for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but may be transcending into the minds of the English as well. Using the results from the Future of England (FoE) survey, an IPPR/YouGov commissioned poll focusing on the English public, the report explores the link between an emerging English identity and its possible consequences on England’s political future.

One of the original 1948 Olympic torches will be on display at the launch of British Future this week, ahead of its display in an exhibition this spring. Below Dr Cathy Ross talks about the importance of the torch as an historic icon.

Despite leaving when he was a toddler, Matthew Rhodes has a strong sense of being from Yorkshire…

“A patriotic extra has revealed how he set Madonna straight on UK royal history during the filming of her Wallis Simpson biopic W,” reports the i newspaper this morning. It is an amusing tale of how north Londoner Ben Goodman, 69, hired to play a newspaper vendor who hands a ‘Royal scandal’ newspaper to the actress playing Mrs Simpson.

The British Future state of the nation poll found that 50% of people in the north-east feel that they belong to Britain. The figure is 66% across Britain, 67% in England, and 60% in Scotland, making the north-east the place where people identify least with a British identity.

British Future trustee Shamit Saggar, and a contributor to today’s Migration Advisory Commitee report, says robust evidence should help to inform a public debate that recognises both benefits and costs.

Both the Olympic Games and the Jubilee are expected to lift the British mood in 2012, but the British Future poll suggests Seb Coe’s Olympic spirit may just be pipped by Jubilee pride in the Queen, if only by a short head.

68% of people expect the Queen’s diamond jubilee to lift the national mood, while 64% say the same about the Olympics, according to the Hopes and Fears poll published by the British Future think-tank on Monday.

Do we need to accept a trade-off between tackling racism and addressing the marginalisation of white working-class communities? My own experience of living in Eltham gives me some hope that we do not.