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This Labour and the flag debate must be fascinatingly new for goldfish, but very few Labour leaders have believed that national flags or the armed forces were the property of their political opponents
I think every successful centre-left, or liberal, or centre-right national political project in a major democracy has found something to say about the meaning of the nation in the politics of that time and place. Thread on the left examples here. https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1211659221403607041?s=19
Both sides of debate can get it wrong. Labour needs a normal, everyday approach to national symbols - NHS, Remembrance, flags, sporting teams - without chasing headlines about how daring it is. Left allergy to nation is just useless for a governing party
https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/02/labour-urged-to-focus-on-flag-and-patriotism-to-win-voters-trust-leak-reveals?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&__twitter_impression=true
https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/02/labour-urged-to-focus-on-flag-and-patriotism-to-win-voters-trust-leak-reveals?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&__twitter_impression=true
If you are in the 1/6 people who feel allergic to national flags, that's OK at a personal level. Dont fly one yourself. Few people do.
Making the allergy a litmus test of progressivism is just telling three-quarters of the country you can't understand or respect their identity.
Making the allergy a litmus test of progressivism is just telling three-quarters of the country you can't understand or respect their identity.
Both/And progressives have always combined a story about nation & identity (relevant for that time & place) with an agenda for what needs to change.
After Covid, post-Brexit, UK in flux, economic and social divisions, how could you not try today? https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1351981045814583300?s=19
After Covid, post-Brexit, UK in flux, economic and social divisions, how could you not try today? https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1351981045814583300?s=19
That graph is More in Common's segmentation of Britain in 2020 https://twitter.com/britishfuture/status/1320635313203675136?s=19
A key theme of the More in Common research is that liberals, progressives, greens and the left have a lot of potential support for the things they care about, if only they could avoid this allergy to symbols of national and identity cutting them off from most people.
This is @policyatkings polarisation study overview of British identity. 8/10 people in Wales have very or fairly strong British identity, though Welsh identity a bit stronger.
Clive Lewis has written a piece giving his personal and political perspective as to why he is sceptical about Labour engaging with national symbols and patriotism
https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/03/labour-red-wall-voters-patriotism-keir-starmer?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&__twitter_impression=true
https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/03/labour-red-wall-voters-patriotism-keir-starmer?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&__twitter_impression=true
Lewis, using his personal experience, made a cogent case for the engagement with flags at a 2017 fringe meeting. People can and do change their minds in politics. I found the earlier argument persuasive at the time https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1356743533013716999?s=19
