Cornish people plant "Other" flags to mark their national identity

As part of its “Disunited Kingdom” series of features, The Guardian yesterday posted results of an on-line survey into how people view their national identities.

Individuals were invited to "plant a flag" where they lived, with their choice of nationality being British, Scottish, English, Welsh Northern Irish, Irish or Other.

More than 16,500 people took part and overwhelmingly chose to identify themselves with their home nation, rather than their Britishness. Figures from yesterday show that 6,594 said they were British, 2,874 said they were Scottish, 2,386 chose English, 1,355 Welsh, 895 Irish, with 129 choosing Northern Irish.

The report also added: “Another 1,309 people chose other, particularly in Cornwall, where there is a home rule and Cornish language movement principally led by the pro-devolution group Mebyon Kernow, which has 22 local councillors across the county (sic). The eastern edge of the "other" dots in the south-west of England (sic) closely follows the line of the Tamar river, the historic boundary between Cornwall and the rest of England (sic).”

It is great to see Cornish people expressing their identity and the above image shows that beautifully. The blue flags represent Other – or in the majority of cases in Cornwall – Cornish!