The phrase "Middle England" is a socio-political and geographical term which originally indicated the central region of England, now almost always referred to as the "Midlands".
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 England, but also carries connotations of "Deep England". The BBC described the Kent town of Tunbridge Wells as the "spiritual home" of Middle England. The term is used by journalists to refer to the presumed views of mainstream English 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. Readers of The Daily Mail, for example, are often characterised as being from Middle England, as are members of the Countryside Alliance. Residents of Middle England are also sometimes referred to as the "silent majority" or "moral majority" in the British media.
Famous quotes containing the words middle and/or england:
“The middle years of parenthood are characterized by ambiguity. Our kids are no longer helpless, but neither are they independent. We are still active parents but we have more time now to concentrate on our personal needs. Our children’s world has expanded. It is not enclosed within a kind of magic dotted line drawn by us. Although we are still the most important adults in their lives, we are no longer the only significant adults.”
—Ruth Davidson Bell. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 3 (1978)
“In England we have come to rely upon a comfortable time-lag of fifty years or a century intervening between the perception that something ought to be done and a serious attempt to do it.”
—H.G. (Herbert George)