Tag Archives: patriotism

Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: True patriotism means standing up for people, not waving flags!

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 20th October 2025 - 8:06 pm

It seems that, these days, there’s somewhat of an arms race – some might even call it a race to the bottom – over who can appear the most ‘patriotic.’

Politicians of every stripe (including, yes, some of our own… think Tim Farron at the recent Conference rally) are falling over themselves to wrap their speeches – and sometimes even themselves – in the Union Jack. There’s talk of “our great nation,” of “British pride,” and endless declarations and protestations of love for “this country of ours.”, of “British value,” which according to some MPs seems to amount to little more …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 8 Comments
Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: to flag or not to flag… that is the question

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 22nd September 2025 - 7:00 pm

I write these words on Monday afternoon, back in Hinckley and Bosworth after a whirlwind (not even) 48 hours in Bournemouth for days one and two of Autumn Conference, reflecting on how different the feeling is being outside the conference bubble – dare I say it – back in the real world, compared with being inside of it when it can feel like the most important thing in the world and something which, surely, must see the media and the wider public glued to our every utterance from the platform in the main auditorium.

Well… not exactly.

To say we’ve not exactly reached maximum cut through is very polite way of putting it.
What was on all the news channels as I flicked through this morning? Yup, you guessed it, a certain Mr Nigel Farage droning on about, yup you guessed it, immigration. Another Monday Reform UK press conference live, taking over the airwaves.

Is it fair? No. Should we strongly protest the unequal coverage? Yes. But is it also our present reality? Yes. So I totally get that, in that context, we’re reduced to doing things like Ed walking into conference with a marching band (don’t get me started!).

And then we get to the flags.

Oh deary me, the flags.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 16 Comments
Michal Siewniak

A Polish perspective – “positive patriotism” abroad

By Michal Siewniak | Mon 29th November 2021 - 4:07 pm

There are times when the Polish community particularly proud of its background and heritage. There are days when our nationality and origin are our great assets. Saturday, 27 November, was just such a day. It was ugly, rainy and windy. Many of us probably would not have left the house. However, despite the typical winter weather, the Polish Saturday School in Welwyn Garden City once again showed that it is the “force for good”, which brings a positive social change in Welwyn Hatfield.

Thanks to a grant from the Hertfordshire Community Foundation, the school, its teachers and volunteers organised an event promoting public health. In all fairness, it was one of many projects organised by the school. Moreover, the school organised possibly bigger initiatives, however the one in November was also quite special.

It was the Polish Saturday School that secured funding for a health and wellbeing project; a total of £2,500. The obtained grant helped the Polish School to become the driving force behind the whole event. Our guests and attendees, including the Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield and the Leader of the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, had an opportunity to learn, listen and network with 15 organisations from many areas across Hertfordshire as well as many Polish residents.

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Posted in Op-eds | 2 Comments
Max Wilkinson

Why I’m thanking residents for getting behind Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions

By Max Wilkinson | Wed 7th July 2021 - 8:34 am

Today I did something unusual for a Liberal Democrat councillor. I thanked local residents for being patriotic.

The area I serve always likes to join in big events. People make huge efforts at Christmas and major national occasions. At the moment, the place is consumed with football fever and many houses are flying England flags of all shapes and sizes. Football truly is coming home in Oakley ward.

That’s why today I delivered a letter of thanks to every home displaying an England flag.

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Liberals need to reclaim patriotism

By Ian Thomas | Tue 25th October 2016 - 12:07 pm

On 4th August 2012 I sat, like so many other millions of Brits, and watched our country’s achieve its best ever athletic session of a summer Olympic Games as Great Britain won three gold medals in the space of an hour to make a total of six gold medals that day, soon dubbed ‘Super Saturday’ by the press.

While the run up to the games was marred by our country’s somewhat infamous national pessimism of such events such doubts were soon cast away in favour of awe at the game’s show-stopping opening ceremony. From Shakespeare to the internet, from rolling …

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Posted in Op-eds | 29 Comments
James Baker

No, we didn’t call the flag nasty.

By James Baker | Fri 9th October 2015 - 2:20 pm

There is a story in the Express UKIP fury as Labour and Lib Dems ‘claim Union flag is nasty and nationalistic. This story is based off a Conservative party press release that UKIP MEP Jane Collins has reacted to. She is quoted as having said:

They’re quite happy to take their expenses off the British taxpayer yet insult the country by saying that children should not sing the national anthem and that the Union Flag is ‘nasty’.

We categorical deny having called the Union Flag nasty, and wonder where the UKIP MEP who wasn’t at the meeting got this quote from. 
What we said was:

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David Gray

Opinion: Do you love this country?

By David Gray | Fri 6th December 2013 - 12:14 pm

One question asked by the Home Affairs Select Committee to Alan Rusbridger over the Snowden leaks should be of great concern to us all. During the often heated exchanges, Keith Vaz asked:

Do you love this country?

If we were told that in, for example, Russia, a committee of MPs were grilling a newspaper editor over his patriotic credentials, we would rightly condemn it as a worrying level of state pressure on the press. Just what were Vaz’s intentions behind that question? Would it have been held against Rusbridger if he had said ‘no’? We can only speculate. But, whether or …

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Caron Lindsay

Nick, you’re right on UKIP’s ideas but please ditch the “unpatriotic”

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 20th November 2013 - 12:29 pm

London loves Business reports Nick Clegg’s recent comments on UKIP.

I think the view represented by UKIP, large parts of the Conservative Party and Paul Sykes is a betrayal of the national interest and an unpatriotic approach because it would leave many people poorer, it would leave us weaker as a country and it would throw many people out of work, and I can’t possibly see why anyone thinks that that is something that in any way represents the long-term national interest.

On the substantive point, he’s absolutely right. Leaving the EU would isolate us, cost jobs, lose us access to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 13 Comments
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