Dial 999 and call up the search teams. Posted missing, days before the European elections, is a satisfactory cliché for English identity. The Welsh have their leeks, the Irish their leprechaun outfits, the Scots their kilts, the Germans their lederhosen. And the English, well...the English don't really have anything, do they?

We seek it here, we seek it there, but all that is to be found right now is the squalor of the BNP and the jelly-bellied flag-flappers of English First and UKIP, all seizing the iconography of Englishness in the hope that votes will follow.

You know things are bad when the left-of-centre Institute for Public Policy Research comes out in favour of reclaiming the English flag and promoting St George's Day as a public celebration. Yes, you read that correctly. Those who would once have broken out in hives at the very mention of the patron saint are now recommending festivals in his honour.

If the thought of the left-wing intelligentsia gathering to wave St George's crosses, watch terrier racing and applaud welly-boot throwing makes you smile, you're not alone. But the IPPR has understood finally that the BNP has its tank on the long-neglected lawn of Englishness and is capitalising on grievance- fuelled politics. It urges mainstream parties to “combat the insinuation that Englishness is forbidden in our cultural and political life”.

The research paper, by Michael Kenny and Guy Lodge, acknowledges “a growing sense that Englishness is disapproved of by the politicial elite and most public authorities”. Dislike of English symbolism and the public celebration of English traditions, they add, has become prominent in recent years.

Kenny adds: “It is imperative that we do not let Englishness be tainted by the BNP and other opportunistic far-right parties. A sense of pride in being English and a growing wish to celebrate our English heritage and culture are positive developments that should be... encouraged by the main political parties.”

Hallelujah, some might say. This is revolutionary stuff for the ideologues who have regarded Englishness as shorthand for unreconstructed brutalism. Things are easier on the Celtic fringe, where national identity is tediously omnipresent. But in England, far too few recognise that identity is an infinitely more subtle, modest thing, so easy to mock and so much harder to protect.

After years of Englishness being unfashionable, there is suddenly a realisation that identity is precious and rather fragile - quite how precious nobody will realise it is until it is lost, least of all the proponents of Labour's “intolerant centralism”, as the IPPR describes it.

But there are two main problems for those who seek to reverse the neglect and embrace populist Englishness. One is to define it: to move beyond the groaning old clichés about morris dancing or the tattooed white working class.

For me, Englishness resides in character, not anything physical. It is an indefinable stew of tolerance, decency, resourcefulness and humour that only manifests itself when called upon. Englishness means being determinedly unshowy; modest to the point, often, of crashing dullness. Englishness means possessing a deep sense of fairness, usually completely inarticulated, and a prize-winning ability for a good moan. Englishness may be vulgar: whether it be shell suits and pitbulls; or monogrammed initials on your well cover - God bless you, Sir Peter Viggers - but on the whole it would rather do you a good turn than a bad.

The next issue is how to nurture this identity and protect it from extremist exploitation. The IPPR recommends measures to recognise English cultural expressions - such as making St George's Day a holiday, festivals, encouraging the use of an English national anthem at sporting events, but it adds “for such reforms to be credible they cannot simply be imposed top-down by the State”.

You bet they can't. It will take more than corny festivals - can you imagine how dull they would be? - to nurture Englishness, though a day off, a bit of respect, and some economic realignment would be a good start. Future governments, if they want to control racist attitudes, must engage with the arguments and do some listening.

They also must tackle the issue of England's democratic deficit. Labour can't make up its mind - and may now never get the chance to choose - between creating a tier of English regional government and a policy of (centrally controlled) localism. The Conservatives have espoused “English votes for English law” in recent manifestos, but do not favour an iconic separate English parliament.

Addressing English political inequality since the settlements with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must be part of the solution. A report from the House of Commons Justice Committee at the weekend described England as the “unfinished business of devolution” - “stuck in a timewarp” while the rest of the UK has moved on.

Both the Justice Committee and the IPPR agree that the Barnett formula, which allocates money to Scotland, is a busted flush. Nearly a third of the English believe that Scotland gets more than its fair share - and that they are subsidising free care for the elderly and free university education north of the Border. That's another quality of Englishness - they dislike being regarded as a dripping roast.

Church leaders are also anxious at the growing resentment. After a poll found that more than a quarter of voters planned to reject the Westminster Establishment, the Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury effectively urged people to vote for mainstream parties. It would be “tragic”, they said, if people abstained or voted for minority parties such as the BNP.

Sadly the Establishment has brought all this on themselves. But another prime definition of Englishness is its suspicion of anything remotely resembling rapid change. Perhaps there are still some reasons to be cheerful.

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