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.
Ed Miliband: Those looking for the best of England should always begin by looking to its people
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.......................
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.......................
9 comments:
But the Labour Party has flooded the UK with non-english!
And the reason for that would be ?
And the reason for that would be ?
To vote for the roll on roll off Jew corporations who have now infiltrated all British political parties !
millipede is a prick and no one is falling for his fake patriotism, he and others are only trying to stem the English, British people from realising they have been screwed by the likes of him and Liebour.
Arab Spring benefited only Israel - Lebanese Interior Minister
http://www.rt.com/news/lebanese-interior-minister-charbel-237/
Labour, and the trades union movement that made the British working class the envy of the world are sold and gone forever.
There was nothing wrong with the Labour movement, until the wreckers planned immigration.
Labour was hi-jacked, infiltrated and destroyed by the sleepers perverting socialism into marxism, as a conspiracy to achieve secret Zioglobalism.
Now a "Brand" like Nike or Adidas.
Three parties, all of whom are the sworn enemies of the native people and exist only to destroy us.
This is war - and they started it!.
FURY AS ENGLAND FLAG IS BANNED
Ford have banned the English flag on Ford sites as it’s a symbol of ‘discrimination, harassment and bullying?
CAR giant Ford has left hundreds of workers gobsmacked by banning St George’s flags at work as Euro 2012 kicks off.
Employees put out England flags ahead of the country’s first match tomorrow against France in Donetsk, Ukraine.
But spoilsport bosses at Britain’s biggest-selling car manufacturer ruled the flags were a “safety hazard” and “inappropriate” and ordered workers to take them down.
taff at the plant, in Daventry, Northants, the company’s biggest distribution warehouse in Britain, are fuming as they wanted to show support for the Three Lions.
A Ford spokesman said workers’ flags had to be taken down as company policy bans activities which “interfere in the place of work”.
The crackdown means thousands of other Ford workers at five other major UK sites also face a ban on flying flags if site chiefs say it breaches company regulations.
The other sites are in Dagenham, east London, Southampton, Halewood, Merseyside, Bridgend, south Wales, and a research facility at Dunton, Essex.
Ian Lawson, a friend of a Daventry worker, said: “It’s worrying Ford have banned England flags during Euro 2012.
“Ford have got this wrong and let’s hope they have a re-think. It should be viewed as fans supporting their team.”
Ford UK corporate affairs manager Brian Bennett said: “Flags were put up at our Daventry site but it is a parts warehouse and objects are moving around so the flags were a safety hazard.
They were asked to take down the flags as the size of them meant they were not appropriate for the workplace.
There was more than one flag involved. Our work behaviour guidelines say anything people do in the workplace should not be offensive to other people or interfere in the place of work.”
But Ford Europe’s Robert Wallis confused the matter when he claimed: “It’s not a ‘no flag’ standpoint, it’s a ‘will not tolerate acts of discrimination, harassment and bullying’ standpoint.”
This only enraged workers more.
Mr Lawson said: “So Ford have banned the English flag on Ford sites as it’s a symbol of ‘discrimination, harassment and bullying?’”
But Mr Bennett added: “I believe the flags were asked to be taken down due to a case of health and safety, not any other reason.”
Bungling Ford bosses are not the first to be blasted for banning the flag.
During last year’s royal wedding, workers at biscuit-maker McVitie’s in Glasgow were banned from displaying “offensive” union flags.
And in 2006, red-faced Labour ministers had to back down over plans to bring in new laws banning flying the flag from anything other than a proper flagpole after uproar from football fans.
Known Pedophile is Instrumental in Promoting Holocaust Hoaxer and Plagiarizer Denis Avey's New Book
http://carolynyeager.net/known-pedophile-instrumental-promoting-holocaust-hoaxer-and-plagiarizer-denis-aveys-new-book
es the Marxist Academics always like to fudge things by using such words as 'spirit' ambiguous to say the least if not meaningless
I guess the Bolsheviks didn't like National Sovereignty, or Patriotism but replaced it with the spirit of International Materialism and Terror
But I am sure Israel is allowed its Nationalist feelings, aye Ed?
Nothing Should get in the way of One World Corporate Fascist/Communist Governance aye Ed?
And I presume that the Ford Motor Company would also ban the use of the American flag in its American plants?
Just because the ENGLISH people do not favour being robbed of their own country by endless waves of job robbing scum from Africa and Asia does not make them FASCIST,just SENSIBLE!
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