I’ve had to correct the above because while governments and top politicians know to call it the UK, hardly anyone else from Portugal to Bulgaria does. After centuries of the UK’s elites and those Celts co-opted to it, self-referring to it as ‘England’, that’s what 99% of Europeans and beyond call it. Protests against the UK in Tehran chant against ‘Inglesi’.

Here are typical examples:

• French: Angleterre
• German: England
• Spanish: Inglaterra
• Italian: Inghilterra
• Dutch: Engeland
• Polish: Anglia
• Portuguese: Inglaterra
• Swedish: England
• Finnish: Englanti
• Greek: Αγγλία (Anglía)
• Many others: Anglia / Angliya / similar variants (from “Angle” root).

Source: https://www.indifferentlanguages.com/words/england

So, the voters see this mad eccentric singing for the so-called UK and they think, straight-off, ‘English, no votes for you.’

Why? They’ve learned to hate England.

Here’s are some reasons:

1. 1985 European Cup Final – Heysel Stadium Disaster
   Heysel Stadium disaster
   Before the final between Liverpool F.C. and Juventus F.C. in Brussels, crowd violence and a stadium wall collapse caused 39 deaths, mostly Juventus fans. English clubs were subsequently banned from European competition for five years.
2. Euro 1988 Disorder in West Germany
   UEFA Euro 1988
   England supporters were involved in clashes with police and rival fans in cities including Düsseldorf and Stuttgart.
3. 1990 World Cup Violence in Italy
   1990 FIFA World Cup
   Disturbances involving England fans occurred in Cagliari and other host cities, leading to arrests and heightened security concerns around hooliganism.
4. Euro 1998 Riots in Marseille
   UEFA Euro 1996 and later the 1998 FIFA World Cup saw major disorder.
   The Marseille violence in particular became infamous after England fans clashed with local youths and police in Marseille before the England vs Tunisia match.
5. Charleroi Trouble at Euro 2000
   UEFA Euro 2000
   England supporters caused extensive disorder in Charleroi, including vandalism and clashes with riot police. Hundreds were detained.
6. World Cup 2006 Clashes in Germany
   2006 FIFA World Cup
   Incidents involving England fans happened in Stuttgart and Baden-Baden, though violence was less severe than in earlier decades.
7. Euro 2016 Marseille Violence
   UEFA Euro 2016
   Serious fighting broke out between England supporters, Russian fans, and police in Marseille before England vs Russia. The scenes drew global attention.
8. Euro 2020 Final Disorder (London-focused but international attention)
   UEFA Euro 2020 Final
   While mainly in London rather than continental Europe, the unrest around Wembley — ticketless fans storming barriers and clashes with police — became one of the biggest modern incidents linked to England football crowds.

Here are some more:

Harfleur to Hamburg: Five Centuries of English and British Violence in Europe – Britain has historically been seen as an upholder of international norms, at least in its relations with western powers. This has often been contrasted with the violence perpetrated in colonial contexts on other continents. What is often missed, however, is the extent to which the state with its capital in London—first England, then Great Britain—inflicted extreme violence on its European neighbors, even when still using the rhetoric of neighborliness and friendship. This book comprises eleven case-studies of Anglo-British strategic violence, from the siege of Harfleur in 1415 to the fire-bombing of Hamburg in 1943. Chapters examine actions that were top-down and directed, and perpetrated for specific geopolitical reasons—many of them at, or well beyond, the bounds of what was sanctioned by prevailing international norms at the time.

https://academic.oup.com/book/58882