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I’m an American, and I love Britain. Why can’t the Labour Party love it too?
I bloody love Britain. That may seem a bit twee to you, but I come by it honestly. The sense of fair play, the dry wit, the “mustn’t grumble, best get on with it” attitude that saw the nation through the darkest days of the Blitz and the self-deprecation that I can only assume is a product of the cool, damp climate. I love it all.
So why can’t Labour?
That’s the question being debated in light of a leaked internal strategy presentation obtained by The Guardian. “The use of the flag, veterans, dressing smartly at the war memorial etc give voters a sense of authentic values alignment,” the report states. This has invoked the ire of many on the Labour left, including Norwich South MP Clive Lewis, who said “the Tory party has absorbed Ukip and now Labour appears to be absorbing the language and symbols of the Tory party.”
This is not a new conflict within Labour. These divisions go back to the beginning of the party itself. Labour Party founder Keir Hardie famously opposed the First World War but faced opposition from his own backbenches — some of whom sang the national anthem while Hardie spoke against the war in the House of Commons. The conflict between patriotism and internationalism continued into the 1980s, according to former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls. There…
