An internal report, says the Guardian, calls on the Labour Party to, and I quote, make “use of the [union] flag, veterans [and] dressing smartly” as part of a rebranding to help it win back the trust of disillusioned voters. With inevitable predictability, the fuckwittery hard left, led by the likes of Corbynite toady Richard Burgon, said it risked alienating young and BAME voters and lacked ambition and authenticity. Being proud of one’s country is, in the eyes of the swivel-eyed loons on the far left fringes, A Bad Thing. But is it? Allow me to quote Ian Austin, the former Labour MP who was among a number of MPs who left the party due to the pernicious antisemitic racism that flourished under Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘leadership’:
“The Union Jack stands for the great British values that welcomed my dad as a refugee, inspired Britain to fight fascism, set up the NHS and unite us all: democracy, equality, freedom, fairness and tolerance.”
In a nutshell, Austin explains what Britain means to me. It welcomed my paternal grandfather and his brothers who came from Norway to set up the Mustad nail factory in Portishead and my mother who came from the Netherlands, both of whom gave far more than they took from their adopted homeland.
Like most people, I am proud of Britain’s record in fighting tyranny and oppression throughout the years and standing up to Hitler’s fascism. And the NHS is, to me, our greatest institution, where everyone is equal when they are taken into the hospital, represents the very best of us.
How on earth could an acknowledgement of “democracy, equality, freedom, fairness and tolerance” cause anyone to be alienated? But this is the bogus argument driving the sneering comrades.
When Corbyn was leader of the opposition, an expression that still sounds absurd, over five years after he became Labour’s accidental and worst ever leader, people saw someone who was very proud of all manner of countries, just not Britain. He took money from the Islamist fascists of Iran’s Press TV, he refused to call out Russia over the Novachok attacks in Salisbury, he was forever praising failed states like Venezuela and using Cuba, a country which still jails journalists and trade union officials as some kind of socialist paradise. I was anything but proud of the Labour Party when it was led by a crank like Corbyn.
This is not treading on the grounds of the far right nationalists like Nigel Farage, Nick Griffin and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon who do not stand for any of the British values I believe in. Austin’s definition of what the Union Flag means is perfect.
The truth is that Labour was not seen as patriotic in the way described by Austin. I struggle to see any party at the moment that comes near his definition. Which is why Labour is right to debate why and how it has been deserted by millions of working class voters. Values are important. Why not display them as a virtue?
