(CNN) According to legend, two fingers were famously raised by Henry V's archers at Agincourt 601 years ago. It was supposed to be a gesture of defiance toward the French who threatened to cut off their bowing digits if they were captured.

Now the descendants of those men have given the same gesture not just to the French, not just the EU, but to their own political elites.

Now is time to ask: Why?

The message from the shires of England is that they no longer trust their leadership. A divide has opened; centers of cosmopolitan wealth are at odds with their council estate and country-living cousins. It is not about wealth, it is about history -- about who the British think they are.

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For the majority, they are too far from their history, their roots are stretched, and the blame for it falls on migrants -- not personally but as an all-consuming force for change.