'Icons of England' list recognises status of pubs and pints

The traditional English pub and a pint of real ale have both made it on to a list of what it means to be English.

The Government's list of Icons of England has been set up to improve the image of the country and encourage debate about what defines England.

Culture Minister David Lammy MP launched the internet-based list - which includes red telephone boxes, London buses and the FA Cup - this week and hopes the public will log on and vote for the icon they thinks best sums up the country.

The list focuses on England, rather than Britain, because of a feeling it struggles to separate its identity from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The news that real ale and pubs are possible icons the public can vote for was welcomed by the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra), the group established to promote its brewing.

Camra spokesman Owen Morris told the MA: "I would definitely encourage people to vote for real ale and the English pub as icons of England. No doubt this list will encourage quite a lot of debate which will of course take place over a pint in the local pub. Pubs have been regarded as the focal point of the community for centuries. It's hard to imagine an England without them and it's hard to imagine a pub without a traditional real-ale hand pump."

This view was shared by Michael Hardman of brewers Young's, who also endorsed real ale as an English icon.

He said: "Real ale, or cask-conditioned beer is almost unique to England. This is one of the very few countries in the world that serves proper live beer on draught and we should be very proud of the very high quality beer we have in England."

Hardman also highlighted real ale's contribution to Eng-land's tourism industry, adding: "A lot of people come from Canada and the US just to drink real draft beer."

The full list can be viewed and voted for at www.icons.org.uk