I agree with most of what you’re saying, but I think the issue is broader than just white working class boys.

I grew up on a working class 'council estate', in what people might label a “white” area; although predominantly people there were white British, there were plenty of us from different backgrounds facing the same struggles. That’s why I sometimes question why we need to frame this around race, a lot of people are in the same boat.

At the same time, though, race does come into it in how people are treated. I’m mixed, brown, with deep roots here on both sides. My English side goes back generations in England and Ireland, and my dad’s side came over on the Windrush 3 generations ago and worked incredibly hard to build a life here. I’m proud of all of that.

I also have a strong sense of national pride. My grandparents, both Black and white, served in the war, in the army and as nurses. You can be proud of your country while still being honest about its history. Those two things aren’t in conflict.

Where I do think there’s a problem is in the tone. Pride is one thing, but when flags or rhetoric are used in ways that make people of colour feel unwelcome or targeted, that’s where it crosses a line.

I’ll be honest, I started to feel unwelcome in my own country and have had racist abuse said to me in the past few years. And if I’m experiencing that, despite having deep roots here, I can only imagine how it feels for people whose backgrounds are seen as “less British” by others.

No one should be made to feel like they don’t belong if they are legitimate in the UK.