The currents of nationalism and patriotism ebb and flow through UK politics, never enough to drown the country but sometimes deep enough to wash out blind cynicism or give us a mouthful of salty xenophobia. Depending on your point of view, nationalism and patriotism are either the same thing or two distinct camps of ideas at different points on a spectrum called, ‘I bloody love Britain alright?’ It’s also worth saying these are not just British things and even within the UK there are obvious similar sentiments towards the four nations and the Ireland of Island as a whole. Plus some good spoof and not so spoof twitter accounts promoting Kentish and Northumbrian nationalism. The Brexit referendum gave new volume to nationalist thinking but with a specific political objective in mind. Now that the UK has left the EU, British patriotism and nationalism is sounding more and more rudderless: bobbing around the Atlantic in a tin bathtub without a clear sense of direction. Now Labour have decided to join: jumping into Her Majesty's battle tub and hoisting their own Union Jack.
Last week the Guardian obtained a leaked strategy paper commissioned by the Labour party. To address voters’ confusion over what the party stands for and make a clear break from the previous party leadership, the paper suggests making greater use of the Union Jack and veterans. The paper also suggests dressing smartly, a style change adopted by Jeremy Corbyn. What a resounding impact on the electorate that had.
The strategy shows how nervous the Labour leadership of being seen as a north London elite out of touch with crucial parts of the electorate in the ‘red wall’ and beyond. In an exclusive copy of the strategy document, made up by this blog, a number of other recommendations for recapturing the public are laid out. Ties are not just to be worn but should avoid deep red colours in case they scare voters who might associate them with left wing politics. Publicly eating avocados will be banned and consuming victoria sponge or anything with gravy on will be encouraged instead. Ideological no-nos now include agreeing publicly with Elizabeth Warren and being a Cuban spy. There are fears that Starmer’s Islington friendly cockapoo Beatrice will be replaced with a bulldog called Trevor or ‘Plucky’. (Starmer is actually known to own donkeys rather than a cockapoo but that doesn’t fit the caricature and it’s also easy to make an ass out of yourself doing donkey jokes…. Oh shhh).
A recent youtube video by the Labour party seems to embody the patriotism over policy approach. There was Starmer in a suit, a Union Jack in the background, only a passing reference to how royally the government is screwing up and lots of how great the NHS is. But there are dangers to Kier Starmer’s attempts to become the reincarnation of Captain Tom. Could deliberately increasing a focus on flags and the military go beyond simply restating affection for a country with many redeeming qualities and encourage an increase in more xenophobic and militaristic nationalism? It’s a shame there isn’t any recent lessons from say America which shows why hitching your wagon to blind nationalism for the sake of political power shouldn’t ‘Trump’ other political values.
Another danger is that again patriotism shifts into the kind of reverence for British institutions that prevents proper scrutiny when they are in the wrong. The revelation that the Queen lobbied Ministers to change the law to keep her wealth from public scrutiny is one example where Britain’s most beloved symbols might not always be working in everyone’s interests. But it’s not just Labour that are playing the patriot card. Massive Pollock Jacob Rees-Mogg’s joke about fish being British comes across as a crass attempt to hide massive failures in post-Brexit fishing policy. A more concerning example is the Overseas Operations Bill which introduces a statute of limitations of just five years for bringing cases against UK soldiers accused of the trivial crime of torture! Armed Forces Minister, Jonny Mercer(nary) has argued that the bill is about protecting Britain’s ‘brave warriors’ from vexatious legal claims. It is tempting to shut up and agree with him, indeed one solicitor was struck off for paying for witness testimony against British troops and that is not right. But looking through patriotic bluster and talking about policy allows us to ask questions like, ‘Why does this bill limit the ability of British troops to bring cases against the Ministry of Defence? eg if they have been thrown into an overseas operation without the right equipment? Perhaps this is why so many former soldiers and the British Legion have not agreed with Jonny on this bill?
A progressive patriotism should be possible. The NHS is a British institution that we can be proud of. Buying field-grown British produce is probably better for the environment than flying it from deforested or water draining farms on the other side of the world. But if Kier Starmer is going to throw on a union jack cape, jump on a bulldog and ride it up to Wakefield then he needs to make sure he doesn’t get thrown off, chewed up and shat out as he passes Luton.
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