Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

David Cameron: UK is “world’s greatest family of nations”St George’s Day plea for English to cherish Scots

David Cameron: UK is “world’s greatest family of nations”St George’s Day plea for English to cherish Scots

David Cameron will use today’s St George’s Day celebrations to issue a fresh plea for people in England to play their part in the battle to keep Scotland in the UK.

The prime minister is due to deliver a message calling on the English to “prove” to Scots that it was possible to be proud of their own nationality – but still be committed to “the world’s greatest family of nations”.

He will describe England’s role in the Union as one of its “greatest achievements”, and say that the different peoples of Britain “will always be greater together” than if they were independent.

The message echoes the Conservative leader’s speech at the Olympic Park in London in February, when he urged the rest of the UK to “get on the phone” to friends north of the border and persuade them to vote against independence.

Mr Cameron’s plea comes amid growing concern behind the scenes in Downing Street at the narrowing opinion poll gap as September’s referendum looms.

He will attempt the tricky balancing act of delivering his pro-Union rallying cry at the same time as beating the drum for English nationalism.

Mr Cameron will say: “St George has been England’s patron saint since 1350. But for too long, his feast day – England’s national day – has been overlooked.

“Today, though, more and more people are coming together on or around April 23, eager to celebrate everything it is to be English.

“And there is much to celebrate because this is a country whose achievements in industry, in technology, sport, music, literature and the arts – they far outweigh our size.”

From Cornish pasties to Newcastle Brown Ale, via Downton Abbey and The Beatles, Mr Cameron will cross the counties in his message, name-checking some of England’s most famous exports.

But he will put the successes firmly in the context of the UK.

His message will conclude: “This St George’s Day, I want us to reflect on one of England’s greatest achievements: its role in the world’s greatest family of nations, the United Kingdom.

“In just five months, the people of Scotland will go to the polls and decide whether they want to remain a part of this global success story.

“So let’s prove that we can be proud of our individual nations and be committed to our union of nations. Because no matter how great we are alone, we will always be greater together.”