Meeting held on Monday 15th February 2021
11 people were present. Four gave apologies for not attending. There was no face to face meeting due to corona virus restrictions.
We were concerned that Kier Starmer’s recent emphasis on the Labour Party being seen to be patriotic, with Union Jacks prominently displayed, appeared to be an attempt to win over the Red Wall constituencies. What were the implications of this?
The Tories appear always to assume themselves to be the party of ‘patriotism’, with Labour, especially under Corbyn (from whom Starmer was concerned to distance himself), being presented in the media as unpatriotic. Starmer appears to draw upon the ideas of Paul Embery (in Despised: Why the modern left..)
There was some discomfort with the Union Jack which often appeared to associate nationalism and Monarchism with English nationalism rather than the other countries of the UK. Such patriotism readily collapses into reactionary colonialism. Was there nevertheless, we wondered, a more progressive form of patriotism that the LP might identify with? This would draw upon the progressive, radical and free-thinking
aspects of British history rather than a nostalgia for its colonial past.
We explored the relationships between nationalism and patriotism. Nationalism could be a radical progressive response to oppressive central governments (eg in Spain). But it could also and be an inward looking xenophobic reactionary tendency (eg USA). We found more sympathy with the idea of “love of one’s country”. We recognised the importance of the love of one’s community, one’s countryside and local activity. But even a concept like this can mean very different things in oppressed working class communities than in privileged environments like ours in the Hope Valley.
We also recognised an idea of ‘love of country’ which celebrates internationalist
concerns for oppression in other countries (as well as in UK) and international
collaboration, rather than the current obsession with competition between states. It would be a love of country which allows for criticism of our government. Starmer’s response to the present government and its handling of the Covid crisis seems to leave little room for criticism of the Tory approach, but merely the details of its managerial incompetence.
It was suggested that Starmer’s flag-waving might encourage Labour supporters on the left to move to the Green Party. We seemed unconvinced that his patriotic sentiment was progressive. There is clearly the need for the Party to explain what kind of patriotism it supports. It was suggested that Andy Burnham, in Manchester, provided a good example of a more progressive patriotism.
The next meeting will be by Zoom on Monday 15th March at 7.30pm. There may
also be a face-to-face meeting if regulations permit.