Following last night’s mammoth parliamentary ping pong session, a funny thing happened early this morning. As various members of HM Press Gallery began to stir themselves today, the social media feeds of various Labour candidates began to be bombarded with graphic after graphic of the English flag, emblazoned with a message wishing one and all a happy St George’s day. Clearly, the free thinking men and women of the Starmer army had all got the message from on high. And then the great Keirleader himself published a rather snazzy video, waxing lyrical — in true Shakespearean style — about what England means to him. Eat your heart out Prince Hal.

But — and Mr S hates to be a cynic about such things — how genuine is all this flag-waving? After all, it was only, er, Sunday that polling found that Labour voters are 13 times more likely as Conservative supporters to describe England’s flag as ‘racist and divisive.’ Indeed, that well known organ of Tory opinion, the Guardian, has reported many times the squeamishness of Labour members with regards to token gestures like the Union Jack-branded membership cards. And then of course there’s the curious case of Emily Thornberry, sacked as Shadow Attorney General in 2014 for tweeting derivatively about the St George’s Cross in the Rochester by-election. Now ten years on, she’s, um, back again in the exact same role as the Shadow Attorney General in Keir Stamer’s top team.

So much for a changed Labour party, eh?

On behalf of the Labour Party, I wish everyone a happy St George’s Day.

Let us be proud of our national identity, confident on the world stage, and sure of our country’s future. pic.twitter.com/1cXTOpwm06

QOSHE - Does Labour really love the St George’s Cross? - Steerpike
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Does Labour really love the St George’s Cross?

21 1
23.04.2024

Following last night’s mammoth parliamentary ping pong session, a funny thing happened early this morning. As various members of HM Press Gallery began to stir themselves today, the social media feeds of various Labour candidates began to be bombarded with graphic after graphic of the English flag, emblazoned with a message wishing one and all a happy St George’s day. Clearly, the free thinking men and women of the Starmer army had all got........

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