Politics

Author tells Starmer to ditch the flag fetish and give voters something to be proud of

Sir Keir Starmer used St George’s Day to urge Brits to “harness the strength of England’s national pride” as he ramps up his party’s flag fetish ahead of the general election.

The Labour leader hit out at the Tories last week, saying they are no longer a patriotic party in a speech that was eerily reminiscent of the Tony Blair era.

In an opinion piece published in the run-up to St George’s Day on Tuesday, Sir Keir spoke of his “pride and gratitude” at being English, saying Labour was “at its best when it has celebrated, defended and served the values of our country and its people” and promised to “always put country above party”.

But the comments have been criticised on GB News of all places, with author Amy Nickell-Turner saying the Labour leader should be focussing on giving Brits something to be proud of.

“Instead of talking about the flag, fly the flag by giving Britons something to be proud of again.”

She added that affordable living costs, a functioning NHS and safe and legal routes for asylum seekers would be among the measures he could consider.

Watch the clip in full below:

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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