Election 2015: UKIP would have welcomed St George

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32428764

Version 0 of 1.

A third Century UKIP would have welcomed St George into the country because of his dragon-slaying skills, the party's Patrick O'Flynn has joked.

He rejected the argument that St George's Day was irrelevant because the saint was from what is now Turkey.

UKIP has called for the day to become a bank holiday.

Conservative PM David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband both urged the country to be proud of England on St George's Day.

Asked whether St George would have been welcomed by a third Century UKIP as a skilled migrant, Mr O'Flynn replied: "Well, I guess dragon-slaying is a skill but whether it is one that's in short supply for the needs of the British economy, we will leave to our migration commission."

Mr Cameron posted a video message on Twitter:

He said people should feel pride for all that "our country has given the world", from the Magna Carta, to the language of Shakespeare to the world wide web.

Mr Miliband tweeted:

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon also tweeted to mark the occasion:

Later, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg sent out a St George's message to his Twitter followers:

At a briefing in central London, UKIP's culture spokesman Peter Whittle said the day should be an "inclusive opportunity" to come together to celebrate common values.

He said: "A country is not just its economy and its identity cannot just be read on a balance sheet. We believe in our hearts and our minds that this is a great country to be proud of and part of," he said.

"But for too long I think we have lived with a political and cultural establishment which has shown a sort of disdain for England and doubted Britain as a whole and has discouraged pride in it."

He added that Britain's culture had been permeated by "their embarrassment about our past and lack of concern for our history".

He said patriotism was often sneered at and society lived in a "state of cultural cringe".

He said his party rejected such negativity and believed benign patriotism was a "force for good".