Former MP Caroline Lucas will offer hope at a troubling time for our nation in a special session at the Lewes Speakers Festival.

England: How to Reclaim Our National Story will be the title of her talk on Friday, January 16 from 20.00–21.10 – the title of her Sunday Times bestselling book.

Notions of England and Englishness have arguably been hijacked by the far right.

As Caroline argues, for too long, Englishness has been left to those who trade in nostalgia, exceptionalism and division. Her point is that it is now time to reclaim it – to tell a new story rooted in kindness, fairness and care for people and the planet.

Reaching deep into England’s literary and cultural past, from Elizabeth Gaskell to John Clare and Charles Dickens, Caroline uncovers alternative traditions of compassion, creativity and dissent that can inspire a greener, more inclusive future.

As she says, the far right thrive on a simplistic outlook. We need to allow a more complex, more layered understanding to come to the fore, especially of our own nation.

As Caroline says, one of her favourite phrases in the whole of Shakespeare is just four words from King Lear: “And that's true too.”

“My plea is to understand complexity and the fact that the truth can be complex. England had a horrendous imperial past but we have done some fantastic things in terms of human rights and climate change and we have a wonderful, rich literature. Let's stress that as well when we talk about England and Englishness.

“As well as remembering some of the worst things of the last few years like people coming together outside asylum hotels to protest, let's at the same time recognise that there have been some great people coming together and saying this is not in my name and not in my world.”

The book first came out in 2024 but was reprinted in 2025 with a new final chapter: “When I first wrote it, it was in the aftermath of Brexit and that was certainly the starting point but by the time we got to the paperback version there was the whole issue of what Englishness means and the rise of the far right. The book felt even more relevant.”

People asked why she focused on England specifically but as Caroline says there were already debates going on Ireland, Scotland and Wales about national identity. At the time there wasn't in England.

But as she points out, England and Britain and the UK get so muddled: “It was beautifully brought home in 2025 when Keir Starmer was asked to write an article about St George’s Day, and throughout the whole article he completely muddled up England and Britain and the UK. The point was that it certainly didn't look great for England but the thing is that until England can see itself separately we will continue to have this kind of domination over the other three nations.

“And over the course of the last few months what has been really difficult in terms of the rise of the far right has been the way that the flag of St George has been weaponised but maybe one of the consequences of that might be that we talk about England and Englishness more now and it just becomes much more part of the agenda which is what we need.”