Have YOUR say on future of UK in major new project backed by Southgate drama creator
HAUNTED by his penalty miss at Euro 96, Gareth Southgate seemed an unlikely choice to be England manager.
And when he took the role, he hired a sports psychologist to challenge the players off the pitch, too.
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BBC One series Dear England with Jodie Whittaker, Joseph Fiennes and Will Antenbring Credit: BBC
Gareth Southgate at the Euros in 2021 Credit: Getty
Now that story is being retold in gritty new BBC One drama Dear England, starring Joseph Fiennes and starting next Sunday.
It is based on the stage play of the same name by James Graham, who insists nothing can unite a nation like the World Cup.
And today the award-winning writer is backing the National Conversation – a major new project aiming to capture the views of the nation about the UK and its path forward.
Here, James explains why he wants us to come up with our own visions for the nation and our future. . .
IT’S almost that time again – and I can’t wait.
Out come the flags as pub landlords try to get their head around licensing laws for World Cup matches that may stretch into the early hours.
These global sporting events remain special — and increasingly rare — moments of potential unity and togetherness in Britain.
It’s no secret that we are living through uniquely divided times.
The social cohesion that used to bind communities has plummeted, our trust in public institutions is at an historic low, and our standards of living refuse to increase.
Nothing seems to get better, yet nothing seems to change.
Why is this happening? Well, we know why.
Our communities, like the post-industrial town I grew up in Nottinghamshire, have had their centres hollowed out and their high streets decimated.
There are fewer and fewer places for us to gather physically.
Meanwhile, as we retreat online to digital communities in search of that human need for “belonging”, the entire model of social media is built around driving outrage and dividing us into silos.
We see the world through 65million different lenses, and our reality is no longer shared.
So where’s the hope, then?
As England gear up to go again, I think back to the letter that manager Gareth wrote to the nation as we came out of the pandemic.
A time when we had been physically split from our neighbours and friends.
I think it’s a remarkable piece of writing — his introductory words, “Dear England”, I nicked for my TV drama of the same name, beginning next Sunday night on the BBC.
Whatever anyone thinks of Gareth as a manager, he is unquestioningly a proud Englishman whose mission was to bring people together after a decade of miserable football experiences.
“Regardless of your upbringing and politics”, he wrote, “what is clear is we are an incredible nation — relative to our size and population — that has contributed so much to the arts, science and sport”.
As well as football results, he said that what is also important is “how we conduct ourselves”.
I have always really, really loved that idea, coming from a male role model in a world where such people are lacking.
Placing a value on not just how we win, but how we behave. Fairness, goodness, decency . . .
On the pitch and off it, Gareth believed in talking about things rather than burying them inside.
It’s how he helped finally beat the World Cup penalty curse.
In that same spirit, today something big is being launched by the (totally independent — ie. not government-run) Commission On Community And Cohesion.
It’s called the National Conversation, running over the summer, and it basically does what it says on the tin.
But it will only have merit if we all get involved.
For once, this isn’t a top-down exercise trying to nudge us towards a pre- determined position.
In local get-togethers, helped by partners such as the EFL, the NHS and multiple faith groups, they want to hear what we all really feel, asking the question: what is the country you want to live in? That’s it.
As part of this national survey we are all encouraged to send a one-minute voice note — private, so you can be honest — to a central database that AI tech will listen to and find patterns within before mapping out a shared vision for the UK. The link to the brief survey is below.
And like any conversation, it has to be honest. It might produce answers not everyone likes but will be fair, decent and kind. I will be submitting my own voice note tonight (once I work out what I think the country needs!). You have the whole summer.
Let’s talk. Let’s listen. Let’s fight for our communities and dream up some change. Come on, England!
