.
Ed Miliband: The England I love is defined by its spirit
We can forge a progressive patriotism based on the qualities that shone
through during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend.
The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations last weekend showcased many of the qualities
which make our country a special place: our sense of community, our gentle
sense of patriotism, our stoicism and our sense of humour – even in the face
of our similarly special weather.
Politicians, more than anyone else, should be careful about simplifying our
national qualities. As George Orwell wrote in The Lion and the Unicorn: “Are
we not 46 million individuals, all different? … How can one make a pattern
out of this?”
But in the midst of the Jubilee, the European Football Championship and the
Olympics, we have a unique chance to reflect on who we are as a country. And
now, more than ever, with the Union under threat in Scotland, we need to
talk about the different identities that make up the United Kingdom. In
particular, we need to talk about England.
The Labour Party has not been very good at doing this in recent years. For too
long, we believed that discussing England might undermine the Union or
connect us to a nationalism that made us feel ill at ease.
Even as we applauded the expression of Scottish identity following devolution,
we were reluctant or nervous about discussing England and celebrating
Englishness.
The danger of remaining silent about England is now clear. First, we risk the
case for the United Kingdom being lost by default, with figures like Jeremy
Clarkson suggesting we should just say “good riddance” to Scotland. Second,
we also see the growth of a narrow, pessimistic English nationalism that
does not represent the best of our nation; one that is hostile to the rest
of Britain and the world.
That is not the England I know. Patriotism is not necessarily claiming we are
the best. It is about recognising and celebrating who we are.
My family have not sat under the same oak tree for the last 500 years. My
parents were Jewish refugees from the Nazis, my father a Marxist academic,
and I know my own experience is far from typical.
But I also know why I am proud to be British and why I am proud to be English,
too. It is the spirit I have witnessed, not least in my own constituency.
Toll Bar, a part of Doncaster North that was horribly flooded in 2007, saw
neighbours rescuing each other in canoes and a community determined to
rebuild together.
Thanks to one of the ironies of modern Britain, a Zimbabwean opposition
activist fleeing persecution from Mugabe ended up in Toll Bar at this time.
He told me that, despite people losing their homes, it was such a positive
time to be in England because of how he saw that community coming together.
I see a similar spirit now, in this summer of 2012, in another of my
constituents, Sarah Stevenson. She is a taekwondo world champion with a real
chance for a medal in the Olympics.
But Sarah is so much more than that. Even while she was training every hour
she could, Sarah was also looking after her mum and her dad, who were living
with cancer, taking time for the people she loved, staying out of the
spotlight when the world was at her feet: caring as well as competing.
Of course, there are so many stories of Sarah’s kind in other nations in the
United Kingdom and elsewhere. But I will always celebrate the very English
stories of Toll Bar and Sarah Stevenson: a quiet determination, a generosity
of spirit, a willingness to do things for others without reward, that we do
not need applause all of the time.
So those looking for the best of England should always begin by looking to its
people. The essence of English identity is not found with the grandeur of
public office in Westminster and Whitehall, but in people coming together in
the struggle to improve their lives and the lives of others.
Sometimes we come together to conserve the very best of our nation. And that
does not make people Conservatives. This year we have seen it in the battle
to protect our National Health Service. Last year we saw The Daily Telegraph
playing a key part in the campaign by people to protect England’s forests
from being sold off to the highest bidder – from the continual calculation
of pounds and pence.
And through history we have adapted and innovated together to renew our
nation, while always keeping our sense of ourselves: trading with the world;
building great cities; learning again how to live together in the face of
constant change – economic, technological, social, and in the composition of
our communities.
Sometimes it is said we need constitutional change, with an English parliament
to match that in Scotland or the Assembly in Wales. But I do not detect a
clamour for more politicians. England does not expect constitutional
symmetry any more than we want our streets designed around grids. Instead,
we should get on with devolving power away from Westminster to English local
authorities and the people, without the need for mayoral referendums or
such-like.
We need to ensure decisions are taken closer to the people and by the people;
that we protect what matters most to the people and that we build a future
for all the people based on the solid foundations of the past.
That is because running through my politics is a belief in the dignity of
people, conserving what we value, and the possibility of progress.
So we should talk about England as we forge a progressive patriotism which
celebrates our differences and honours our people. It is the lesson of my
life and it is what I have learnt from my country.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband/9316673/Ed-Miliband-The-England-I-love-is-defined-by-its-spirit.html
NWN: Do they call this hypocrisy or chutzpah to use jewish parlance ?
Here we have Milliband, a marxist zionist jew, whose father was probably an illegal immigrant, and a communist. Who should not even be in this country in the first place. Lecturing we English, on actually what being English is all about !
Who do these people think they are ?
p.s. The comments make rather good reading if you go to the link.......................
