Americans don’t get sarcasm, the British love queues and the French like cheese. Stereotypes are often inaccurate, but can also be useful way of finding a common identity. In his sketch show comedian Erich McElroy draws on these stereotypes to describe his long-running struggle between being American and being British, writes Georgia Hussey.

After the performance of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Glasgow Girls, the audience jumped to their feet and roared their approval and wouldn’t stop. The cast looked slightly stunned by the audience’s reaction, but it was a reflection of a truly exciting musical play, writes Rachael Jolley.

What then can we learn about the possibilities of sport, and other areas of common interest, to be a positive force for inclusion and integration? This was the central question at British Future’s Beyond Wembley: What can bring Bradford together? debate held on 26th February at the Carlisle Business Centre in Bradford.

“Bradford needs more than just one cup final. It needs more winners. People are desperate; people want change.” These words, articulated by one member of the audience at British Future’s Beyond Wembley: What can bring Bradford together? event, struck a chord with many.

Bradford City versus Swansea City is not the Wembley League Cup final that anybody expected at the start of the football season, with supporters of both clubs looking forward to their first major Wembley final. Days before British Future holds a debate in Bradford, Sunder Katwala asks residents of the city, including season ticket holders, an imam, and the curator of the club museum, what they think about the final and its impact on the city.

There are many things people think of when they hear the name Wales. Mountains, singing, sheep, leeks, harps and, of course, rugby. I myself am from Wales and I definitely see rugby as somehow particularly Welsh. But is this merely a stereotypical view of this little country or are there some intrinsic elements of national pride and identity locked inside the sport? writes Bryn Lewis.

“Foods from all over the world have become so British and so ingrained in British cuisine that we often forget where these foods have actually come from,” says Amarjeet Singh from Refugee Action, the national charity working with refugees and asylum seekers, when asked about what she regards as a true British dish.

As part of our British Histories series, British Future asked actor Harman Singh and political assistant Mario Creatura what it means to be British and which forces have influenced their identities.

Does being Jewish mean I should take offence towards the alleged antisemitism in Gerald Scarfe’s recent cartoon, which features Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paving a wall with the blood and limbs of Palestinians? Not necessarily, writes Jemimah Steinfeld.