page_title: Middle England
section_title: Modern usage
hierarchical_section_title: Middle England / Modern usage
caption_attribution_description: English: Canal buildings at Tyrley Wharf, Staffordshire The buildings by the top lock at Tyrley on the Shropshire Union Canal are dated 1837 and 1840 (very soon after the completion of the canal in 1835, engineered by Thomas Telford) and are now converted into residential properties. Enthusiasm for government from Brussels has been very limited here for several years.
context_page_description: The phrase "Middle England" is a socio-political term which generally refers to middle class or lower-middle class people in England who hold traditional conservative or right-wing views.
context_section_description: The primary meaning of the term is now a political or sociological one (as is also the case for the term "Middle America" or "Middle Australia"). It principally indicates the middle classes or lower-middle classes of non-urban Britain, but also carries connotations of "Deep England". John Major’s 1993 speech to the  Conservative Group for Europe is often cited, evoking romantic imagery of rural cricket matches, warm beer, suburban gardens, and “old maids bicycling to Holy Communion through the morning mist” (itself based on a quote from George Orwell).
  Although Middle England does not refer to a geographical region, it may be understood to refer to the inhabitants of suburbs in the South of England and the Midlands, typified by the small towns that make up "Metro-Land", the suburban areas north-west of London that are served by London Underground's Metropolitan line. The BBC described the Kent town of Tunbridge Wells as the "spiritual home" of Middle England, with particular reference to the popular characterisation of "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells", the pseudonym of an imaginary, incensed letter-writer. Emphasising its lack of geographical location, the writer Nick Inman likened Middle England to J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth: "We know everything about it except where it is".
  The term is used by journalists to refer to the presumed views of mainstream English and to a lesser extent British people, as opposed to minorities of all types (the rich or the poor, ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, the politically active, the intelligentsia, etc.). In particular, it is increasingly used to denote the more right-wing views of those who are not in such minorities. The phrase "Middle England" may be regarded by some as interchangeable with "Middle Britain", particularly with reference to political campaigns that seek to include middle-class voters in Scotland and Wales, but commentators such as Cannadine have assessed it as a designation specific to a segment of England, not Britain as a whole. John Major's 1993 speech has been noted for its culturally selective evocation of Britain, omitting inner cities, football, people who are unemployed, coal mines, Muslims, and the other Constituent Countries of the United Kingdom.
  People who belong to the Middle England grouping are typically said to be white, middle class or lower-middle class, heterosexual, with a strong work ethic and a highly developed sense of conscientiousness. They may typically read the Daily Mail, a popular British newspaper known for its conservative editorial bias, and are also sometimes referred to as the "silent majority" or "moral majority" in the British media.
caption: Middle England's political opinions, such as Euroscepticism, are considered highly influential
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