Once again, Sir Keir Starmer has shown his political instincts are sound, by writing in today’s Telegraph that patriotism is a good thing and that Brits have a “patriotic duty” to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee this weekend.
That he feels obliged to say this at all says much about Labour’s recent history, and how, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, the party wandered grotesquely from its traditional values of devotion to the country and loyalty to the monarchy. Starmer understands the damage this did to Labour’s electability, and now takes every opportunity to try to repair the harm done by the previous regime.
And yet, the blame shouldn’t be placed entirely at Corbyn’s door. When Neil Kinnock, in his second term as Labour leader, wrapped himself in the national flag, there were plenty of critics on the Left who fretted about stealing the Conservatives’ clothes. They forgot that the Attlee and Wilson governments were populated by men and women who had served their country in uniform during the war, and that it was a Labour government that led the way in founding Nato and developed Britain’s nuclear deterrent. Attlee himself was seriously wounded during the First World War and Denis Healey was among British troops who stormed the beaches at Anzio in 1944.
And yet the fashionable Left, true to George Orwell’s scathing description, would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during the national anthem than of stealing from a food bank. In the minds of such critics, patriotism is as near to jingoism as dammit, and every endorsement of the hereditary monarchy must be qualified by a bout of anxious hand-wringing about privilege and democracy.
Starmer’s message here isn’t just vital to a future Labour electoral victory; it also happens to be true. And yet even today there is no shortage of Starmer “allies” on the Left who sabotage their party by questioning their leader for wrapping himself in the national flag and heaping praise, not just on the Queen, but on Britain itself.
For many on the Left, Britain deserves nothing but contempt; its people are racist xenophobes, steeped in privilege and deference, hamstrung by out-of-date institutions and a lapdog to larger, more powerful military allies. And the only good things about Britain are the NHS and the TUC. Any cultural move away from this gravitational pull of self-loathing and virtue-signalling is fiercely resisted.
The debate is similar to that in the 1980s when Labour sought, partially successfully, to adopt the mantle of the party of law and order, not just the party of the health service. Again, this chimed with ordinary people’s priorities and concerns, but it was fiercely resisted by some on the Left who saw the police as the enemy and who feared the leadership’s rightwards drift.
That essentially the same reservations are being voiced again today says a great deal about how unreformed Labour still is, at least culturally. If the party sees Starmer’s words today as merely public relations flim-flam, as mere spin, then his efforts will come to naught. His assertions of patriotism must be embraced, and embraced sincerely, not because they are electorally convenient, but because they are right.
But it is his comments further on in his column that most impressed me: “The Britain that is emerging at this Platinum Jubilee is one that is again ready to move on from the tribulations of recent years, stronger for its experiences, and more than able to seize the opportunities ahead.”
It is hard to overstate the damage done by Labour’s constant pessimism over the economic prospects of Brexit Britain in the last six years. Genuine concern over the decision to leave the EU quickly morphed, in some cases, to deranged hysteria, and that was rightly rejected by the voters.
Now we have a Labour leader who – despite Brexit, though he doesn’t refer explicitly to it – is asking us to have confidence once more in our country, who urges us to believe our best days are yet ahead of us.
No wonder he is hated so much by the Left.
No candidate for prime minister will ever win the loyalty of voters by saying that the future is bleak, that everything is awful and going to stay that way forever, and that Britain is an awful place. It’s a lesson taught to us by many previous successful national and international leaders, not least Ronald Reagan and Tony Blair.
There is a sting in the tail of this, of course. Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, interviewed on Christopher Hope’s “Chopper’s Politics” podcast this week, gave a decent explanation of why Labour should be patriotic, citing some of the examples of public service mentioned above, not least his forebears’ willingness to die for their country in wartime.
But his comment, “We’re Labour because we’re patriotic”, should ring a warning bell: it’s wonderful that Labour is rediscovering its patriotic roots, but I hope it won’t make the mistake of thinking that because it’s claimed that ground, it has the right to shove any other party off it.
Patriotism is neither the property of a single party nor the exclusive motivation of party members of only one tribe. If tolerance and inclusivity must now be regarded as essential elements of the New Patriotism, that opens up its joys to as broad a political spectrum as possible.
And that is something to toast this weekend.
>For many on the Left, Britain deserves nothing but contempt; its people are racist xenophobes, steeped in privilege and deference, hamstrung by out-of-date institutions and a lapdog to larger, more powerful military allies. And the only good things about Britain are the NHS and the TUC. Any cultural move away from this gravitational pull of self-loathing and virtue-signalling is fiercely resisted.
True. But the NHS is genuinely something to be proud of, I wouldn’t lump it as ‘only _just_ the NHS’. It’s one of our biggest institutions.
This article is evident by some of the comments on this sub, which is massively out of touch with the public. So gloomy and negative about this country’s institutions and the flag, attacking the Queen etc.
Despite the fact she’s been around for 70 years and lived through World War 2. You might not like her but she deserves her recognition.
Anything positive about this country is shot down too, it’s always ‘Britain is shit’ etc, ‘fuck the flag’. The way some people on here talk about this country you’d think we live in Russia or North Korea.
It’s why Starmer’s got this more than spot on. Being patriotic should be universal, it shouldn’t be ‘Tory territory’. Corbyn’s fans in 2018 could only wave the Palestinian flag at that year’s conference, not the union flag, which was telling in itself.
The left need to be taught a good lesson about why this anti-Britain notion that’s clearly still rife online isn’t an election winner, and why as a result they should never be allowed to capture the leadership ever again amongst other reasons. Good on Starmer.
Ugh patriotism is so pointless, I had no choice where I was born
I’m not averse to patriotism as long as it’s not blind patriotism. To me, it seems ridiculous to follow and support your country no matter what.
There are things about the UK (present and past) that should inspire justified patriotism. For example, the various English innovators who have changed the world arguably for the better. It sounds flippant but most of my favourite music *happens* to be made by English musicians so this makes me feel proud and I guess somewhat “patriotic”.
But let’s face it, there are plenty of sketchy and debatable areas where some UK citizens feel a lot more patriotism about than others. Brexit has probably muddied the waters and widened the divide here.
If you are to find fault with aspects of Britain past or Britain present, it should be okay to not feel patriotic, maybe even feel disappointed if you feel things aren’t getting better when they could be getting better under a different direction. But on the other hand, it would also be reductive to throw the baby out with the bathwater and claim that everything about Britain is broken.
Patriotism or anti-patriotism should not be thought of as absolute terms- though these days the media makes it easy for you to think in absolutes given how everything gets so politicized and is reduced to a “two tribes” way of understanding.
A “patriotic duty” to celebrate the jubilee?
Frankly, I am a little disgusted that a Labour party leader uses language like this. Celebrate the jubilee if you want. Not because you have a patriotic duty.
I am not a monarchist. I have no duty, patriotic or otherwise, to celebrate an institution that exemplifies inequity and a class tradition long, long past its point of obsolescence.
I understand he is trying to appeal to the Daily Mail reading middle Englander, but shit like this alienates people like me, and in Scotland, I have an alternative that I can lend my vote to.
I think Labour in Scotland have given up on the sane vote. They stood an senior Orange Order member in the council elections, they have formed alliances with the Tories in the councils where they can, the idea they represent the values they claim to is absurd to me. And this drives it home.
For those of you in England, I don’t begrudge you voting Labour, they may be your best alternative. But I will never vote for them again.
A great man once said “Patriotism is about supporting each other, not attacking someone else. It’s about loving your country enough to make it a place where nobody is left homeless or hungry, held back, or left behind”.
The left needs no lessons from the rabid right wing who have been responsible for so much suffering and destruction in this country, even if they’ve wrapped themselves in a flag while doing it.
Patriotism should be sincere, but it shouldn’t be blind.
I would consider myself on the political left, and I think Britain has a lot to be proud of. In cultural terms alone – film, television, literature, art, music – we punch extraordinarily above our weight compared to our size. In industry, innovation, medicine, technology and many fields we have produced world-leading businesses and people.
But we also have deep and systemic failings as a country, and waving flags and staring lovingly at pictures of bulldogs won’t make them go away.
A healthy form of patriotism is one that celebrates a country’s achievements, and recognises its potential for greatness, and which seeks to correct any failures to reach that greatness, not sweep them under the carpet and pretend everything is perfect even as the foundations crumble and the country’s institutions rot from the inside out.
The political right often throws out accusations of disloyalty and lacking patriotism, while at the same time systematically dismantling, underfunding and dragging into the sewer the things which we genuinely ought to be proud of as a country. If Labour want to actually do some good for Britain they would be better off redefining patriotism as a reflection of the greatness that Britain and Britons can aspire to, and not the number of flags they can stand in front of at press conferences.
Ok, I would have thought this was obvious, but…
**The Telegraph is not going to tell Labour how to win an election, because the Telegraph does not want Labour to win an election.**
I shouldn’t have to point this out.
(The same goes for the lib-dem aligned press, with the added caveat that they don’t even know the first thing about winning elections to begin with)
Aye flag shagging has worked fucking brilliantly so far hasn’t it with this “red white and blooo” Brexit.
Something about the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Patriotism gives you a reason to pick sides in a football match, which makes it more exciting. Beyond that i don’t see any non-nefarious purpose for it.
It seems to be a word used mostly by right wing populists to damage the country
I just wish instead we could have a grown up conversation about how it seems like every single time someone tries too hard to wrap themselves up in a flag, its usually to hide that they’re pissing all over some vulnerable innocent Brit in the mean time. Its not about “hating the flag” or whatever these hysterical reactionaries want to make it out to be, its about hating the people who use the flag as such a fucking easy and *obvious* decoy every time they need a quick bit of camouflage. It shouldn’t keep working and I swear a big part of why it does is outlets like The Telegraph keep refusing to make this point to their audience and just repeat the reactionary tropes every time instead.
Sincerity from right-wing snakes? Another turd produced by the Torygraph.
14 comments
Once again, Sir Keir Starmer has shown his political instincts are sound, by writing in today’s Telegraph that patriotism is a good thing and that Brits have a “patriotic duty” to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee this weekend.
That he feels obliged to say this at all says much about Labour’s recent history, and how, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, the party wandered grotesquely from its traditional values of devotion to the country and loyalty to the monarchy. Starmer understands the damage this did to Labour’s electability, and now takes every opportunity to try to repair the harm done by the previous regime.
And yet, the blame shouldn’t be placed entirely at Corbyn’s door. When Neil Kinnock, in his second term as Labour leader, wrapped himself in the national flag, there were plenty of critics on the Left who fretted about stealing the Conservatives’ clothes. They forgot that the Attlee and Wilson governments were populated by men and women who had served their country in uniform during the war, and that it was a Labour government that led the way in founding Nato and developed Britain’s nuclear deterrent. Attlee himself was seriously wounded during the First World War and Denis Healey was among British troops who stormed the beaches at Anzio in 1944.
And yet the fashionable Left, true to George Orwell’s scathing description, would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during the national anthem than of stealing from a food bank. In the minds of such critics, patriotism is as near to jingoism as dammit, and every endorsement of the hereditary monarchy must be qualified by a bout of anxious hand-wringing about privilege and democracy.
Starmer’s message here isn’t just vital to a future Labour electoral victory; it also happens to be true. And yet even today there is no shortage of Starmer “allies” on the Left who sabotage their party by questioning their leader for wrapping himself in the national flag and heaping praise, not just on the Queen, but on Britain itself.
For many on the Left, Britain deserves nothing but contempt; its people are racist xenophobes, steeped in privilege and deference, hamstrung by out-of-date institutions and a lapdog to larger, more powerful military allies. And the only good things about Britain are the NHS and the TUC. Any cultural move away from this gravitational pull of self-loathing and virtue-signalling is fiercely resisted.
The debate is similar to that in the 1980s when Labour sought, partially successfully, to adopt the mantle of the party of law and order, not just the party of the health service. Again, this chimed with ordinary people’s priorities and concerns, but it was fiercely resisted by some on the Left who saw the police as the enemy and who feared the leadership’s rightwards drift.
That essentially the same reservations are being voiced again today says a great deal about how unreformed Labour still is, at least culturally. If the party sees Starmer’s words today as merely public relations flim-flam, as mere spin, then his efforts will come to naught. His assertions of patriotism must be embraced, and embraced sincerely, not because they are electorally convenient, but because they are right.
But it is his comments further on in his column that most impressed me: “The Britain that is emerging at this Platinum Jubilee is one that is again ready to move on from the tribulations of recent years, stronger for its experiences, and more than able to seize the opportunities ahead.”
It is hard to overstate the damage done by Labour’s constant pessimism over the economic prospects of Brexit Britain in the last six years. Genuine concern over the decision to leave the EU quickly morphed, in some cases, to deranged hysteria, and that was rightly rejected by the voters.
Now we have a Labour leader who – despite Brexit, though he doesn’t refer explicitly to it – is asking us to have confidence once more in our country, who urges us to believe our best days are yet ahead of us.
No wonder he is hated so much by the Left.
No candidate for prime minister will ever win the loyalty of voters by saying that the future is bleak, that everything is awful and going to stay that way forever, and that Britain is an awful place. It’s a lesson taught to us by many previous successful national and international leaders, not least Ronald Reagan and Tony Blair.
There is a sting in the tail of this, of course. Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, interviewed on Christopher Hope’s “Chopper’s Politics” podcast this week, gave a decent explanation of why Labour should be patriotic, citing some of the examples of public service mentioned above, not least his forebears’ willingness to die for their country in wartime.
But his comment, “We’re Labour because we’re patriotic”, should ring a warning bell: it’s wonderful that Labour is rediscovering its patriotic roots, but I hope it won’t make the mistake of thinking that because it’s claimed that ground, it has the right to shove any other party off it.
Patriotism is neither the property of a single party nor the exclusive motivation of party members of only one tribe. If tolerance and inclusivity must now be regarded as essential elements of the New Patriotism, that opens up its joys to as broad a political spectrum as possible.
And that is something to toast this weekend.
>For many on the Left, Britain deserves nothing but contempt; its people are racist xenophobes, steeped in privilege and deference, hamstrung by out-of-date institutions and a lapdog to larger, more powerful military allies. And the only good things about Britain are the NHS and the TUC. Any cultural move away from this gravitational pull of self-loathing and virtue-signalling is fiercely resisted.
True. But the NHS is genuinely something to be proud of, I wouldn’t lump it as ‘only _just_ the NHS’. It’s one of our biggest institutions.
This article is evident by some of the comments on this sub, which is massively out of touch with the public. So gloomy and negative about this country’s institutions and the flag, attacking the Queen etc.
Despite the fact she’s been around for 70 years and lived through World War 2. You might not like her but she deserves her recognition.
Anything positive about this country is shot down too, it’s always ‘Britain is shit’ etc, ‘fuck the flag’. The way some people on here talk about this country you’d think we live in Russia or North Korea.
It’s why Starmer’s got this more than spot on. Being patriotic should be universal, it shouldn’t be ‘Tory territory’. Corbyn’s fans in 2018 could only wave the Palestinian flag at that year’s conference, not the union flag, which was telling in itself.
The left need to be taught a good lesson about why this anti-Britain notion that’s clearly still rife online isn’t an election winner, and why as a result they should never be allowed to capture the leadership ever again amongst other reasons. Good on Starmer.
Ugh patriotism is so pointless, I had no choice where I was born
I’m not averse to patriotism as long as it’s not blind patriotism. To me, it seems ridiculous to follow and support your country no matter what.
There are things about the UK (present and past) that should inspire justified patriotism. For example, the various English innovators who have changed the world arguably for the better. It sounds flippant but most of my favourite music *happens* to be made by English musicians so this makes me feel proud and I guess somewhat “patriotic”.
But let’s face it, there are plenty of sketchy and debatable areas where some UK citizens feel a lot more patriotism about than others. Brexit has probably muddied the waters and widened the divide here.
If you are to find fault with aspects of Britain past or Britain present, it should be okay to not feel patriotic, maybe even feel disappointed if you feel things aren’t getting better when they could be getting better under a different direction. But on the other hand, it would also be reductive to throw the baby out with the bathwater and claim that everything about Britain is broken.
Patriotism or anti-patriotism should not be thought of as absolute terms- though these days the media makes it easy for you to think in absolutes given how everything gets so politicized and is reduced to a “two tribes” way of understanding.
A “patriotic duty” to celebrate the jubilee?
Frankly, I am a little disgusted that a Labour party leader uses language like this. Celebrate the jubilee if you want. Not because you have a patriotic duty.
I am not a monarchist. I have no duty, patriotic or otherwise, to celebrate an institution that exemplifies inequity and a class tradition long, long past its point of obsolescence.
I understand he is trying to appeal to the Daily Mail reading middle Englander, but shit like this alienates people like me, and in Scotland, I have an alternative that I can lend my vote to.
I think Labour in Scotland have given up on the sane vote. They stood an senior Orange Order member in the council elections, they have formed alliances with the Tories in the councils where they can, the idea they represent the values they claim to is absurd to me. And this drives it home.
For those of you in England, I don’t begrudge you voting Labour, they may be your best alternative. But I will never vote for them again.
A great man once said “Patriotism is about supporting each other, not attacking someone else. It’s about loving your country enough to make it a place where nobody is left homeless or hungry, held back, or left behind”.
The left needs no lessons from the rabid right wing who have been responsible for so much suffering and destruction in this country, even if they’ve wrapped themselves in a flag while doing it.
Patriotism should be sincere, but it shouldn’t be blind.
I would consider myself on the political left, and I think Britain has a lot to be proud of. In cultural terms alone – film, television, literature, art, music – we punch extraordinarily above our weight compared to our size. In industry, innovation, medicine, technology and many fields we have produced world-leading businesses and people.
But we also have deep and systemic failings as a country, and waving flags and staring lovingly at pictures of bulldogs won’t make them go away.
A healthy form of patriotism is one that celebrates a country’s achievements, and recognises its potential for greatness, and which seeks to correct any failures to reach that greatness, not sweep them under the carpet and pretend everything is perfect even as the foundations crumble and the country’s institutions rot from the inside out.
The political right often throws out accusations of disloyalty and lacking patriotism, while at the same time systematically dismantling, underfunding and dragging into the sewer the things which we genuinely ought to be proud of as a country. If Labour want to actually do some good for Britain they would be better off redefining patriotism as a reflection of the greatness that Britain and Britons can aspire to, and not the number of flags they can stand in front of at press conferences.
Ok, I would have thought this was obvious, but…
**The Telegraph is not going to tell Labour how to win an election, because the Telegraph does not want Labour to win an election.**
I shouldn’t have to point this out.
(The same goes for the lib-dem aligned press, with the added caveat that they don’t even know the first thing about winning elections to begin with)
Aye flag shagging has worked fucking brilliantly so far hasn’t it with this “red white and blooo” Brexit.
Something about the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Patriotism gives you a reason to pick sides in a football match, which makes it more exciting. Beyond that i don’t see any non-nefarious purpose for it.
It seems to be a word used mostly by right wing populists to damage the country
I just wish instead we could have a grown up conversation about how it seems like every single time someone tries too hard to wrap themselves up in a flag, its usually to hide that they’re pissing all over some vulnerable innocent Brit in the mean time. Its not about “hating the flag” or whatever these hysterical reactionaries want to make it out to be, its about hating the people who use the flag as such a fucking easy and *obvious* decoy every time they need a quick bit of camouflage. It shouldn’t keep working and I swear a big part of why it does is outlets like The Telegraph keep refusing to make this point to their audience and just repeat the reactionary tropes every time instead.
Sincerity from right-wing snakes? Another turd produced by the Torygraph.
Terrifying 1939 stuff.