Eyebrows were raised yesterday when it emerged Keir Starmer would host a St George’s Day reception in 10 Downing Street. The Labour leader has never gone out of his way to celebrate the day of English patriotism, so it initially seemed like a welcome move…
As it turned out, as reported by The Sun (invited in the hope the paper would provide some soft soap treatment of Sir Keir), the PM used the event to launch a thinly veiled attack on Reform ahead of the local elections: “That flag doesn’t belong to me as Prime Minister, it doesn’t belong to my party, the Labour Party, or to any group or political party. It belongs to all of us, to England in all of its wonderful diversity. And we should be proud of that flag and we must never concede it because it’s an expression of our values and our patriotism.” Has anyone told Emily Thornberry that?
Starmer then inevitably descended into a sermon about the dangers of “those who want to divide this nation” and went for the Southport rioters, employing a somewhat punchy metaphor to suggest that the flag of St George should be “wrenched” out of their hands:
“Yet now – we can see people trying to sow division in our communities. People taking the red and white of our flag with them as they throw bricks at businesses. That is what happened last year – in the riots. And we must fight it. Because it was the aftermath of the riots that showed what it means to be English. “It marked the coming together of a country. People who got together the morning after, all across Britain. With shovels, brooms, and brushes, to clean up their communities. Rebuilding walls, repairing damage. It’s in that spirit that we reclaim our flag for our country. For English decency, honour and fairness. Wrench it out of the hands of those who want to divide this nation. And reclaim it for good.”
Branded by No10 as a celebration of English patriotism, the event – attended by top lefties including Gary Lineker – was in fact just an opportunity for another Starmerite intervention in full support of Labour’s traditional lukewarm position on St George’s Day. Would this happen at any other national day event?
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”