Starmer is trying to show he's more patriotic than Farage, but his plan is doomed to fail

Telegraph

23-04-2025

Sir Keir Starmer appears to have caused Nigel Farage some consternation with his attempts to flaunt his patriotic credentials this week.
On Tuesday evening the Prime Minister posed outside No10 in front of St George's flag bunting and alongside celebrities including Ross Kemp, whom his staff had decided projected a sense of Englishness. Guests were served Melton Mowbray pork pies, Lancashire Eccles cakes and Bakewell tarts, as the Prime Minister praised the value of 'modern patriotism'.
Reform's leader Farage was somewhat sceptical, accusing Starmer of 'panicking' about the threat from Reform, an avowedly and overtly patriotic movement.
'He and his north London friends loathe Englishness but are losing support to Reform,' said Farage, of the Prime Minister. His rebuke came just weeks after Starmer claimed there was 'nothing patriotic' about Reform, accusing Farage himself of 'fawning over [Vladimir] Putin' after he suggested the West provoked Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The row goes to the heart of Starmer's attempts to prove his patriotic credentials since becoming Labour leader five years ago, at first in an attempt to distance himself from his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, who critics accused of being unpatriotic and even borderline traitorous. Indeed, ahead of St George's Day last year, Starmer said Labour must not flinch at flying the flag of St George.
It also says much about his party's attempt to stave off the electoral challenge posed by a confident Reform, which although increasingly popular in Wales and even Scotland, retains its base in a resurgent English nationalism.
'Getting patriotism wrong does make a difference in elections,' says James Frayne, a political consultant and opinion research strategist. 'If Starmer says perfectly patriotic things and has a nice party and drapes himself in the flag then that is net neutral for his reputation.
'But if he did nothing, or got it wrong, that would be very bad. He is doing the minimum he needs to do.'
Echoing Frayne, many observers argue that when it comes to patriotism, it's not so much getting it right that counts but not getting it wrong.
Starmer has been risk averse on a number of issues (including the rights of biological women), but has been avowed in repeatedly declaring his love of country.
In his first conference speech as Labour leader in 2020 he declared: 'We love this country as you do' – a sentiment he has often returned to since. A year later, a leaked internal document advised Labour to make 'use of the [union] flag, veterans [and] dressing smartly' as part of a rebranding drive.
Since becoming Prime Minister, he appears to have rarely missed an opportunity to position himself next to the Union Jack. In 2024, he wrote a piece for this newspaper in which he recounted 'belting out Three Lions in the crowd at Wembley in 1996' and spoke of his 'great pride and gratitude to be English'. But not everyone has bought in. Critics on the left of his own party have complained that Labour rallies now resemble the Last Night of the Proms.
Meanwhile, Farage faces no such potential revolt from his party members and activists. He took over the leadership just 11 months ago, but his prior involvement with UKIP and Brexit has long endeared him to voters who believe he possesses uniquely patriotic credentials.
Famed for possessing 20 pairs of Union Jack socks, Farage has long marked himself out by taking other politicians to task for what he has says is a lack of sentiment for Britain and its traditions – including attacking former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for leaving the D-Day memorial service early last year.
Yet, as loudly as Farage and Reform shout about the Englishness they represent, the Prime Minister may be wise to opt instead for the anodyne expressions of patriotism that reached their apogee at the bunting-strewn celebration in Downing Street on Tuesday evening.
Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think tank that specialises in immigration, integration, race and identity, says Sir Keir appears keen to sell a vision of patriotism that excludes no one – a seemingly sensible electoral strategy.
'I think normalising patriotism in No10 is fine,' says Katwala, who attended the event. 'Starmer wants to look at ease around English symbols. I don't think his party was some kind of response to Farage.
'Starmer has to admit there are things that need fixing, but what he doesn't want is to seem like he feels miserable about the country he's trying to fix,' he adds.
The majority of the electorate certainly appear to value a leader who embraces love of country. Polling conducted last year by the More in Common think tank found eight in ten voters believed it was important for politicians to be patriotic.
And if the Prime Minister's embrace of national identity is, at least in part, an attempt to take on Farage at his own game, there are signs it may be working.
A survey conducted in June 2024 by More in Common found two in five voters believe that under Sir Keir's leadership, Labour is a party that's proud to be British.
Under Corbyn, half as many felt that way, and the party has routinely struggled with perceptions that it is snobbish about patriotism in the past, such as when Emily Thornberry appeared to mock homeowners in Rochester, Kent, in 2014 for displaying a St George's flag outside their property.
But even if Starmer is doing a reasonable job in emphasising his own patriotism, it has done little to quell Farage and Reform, both of which are riding high in the opinion polls.
The party looks to be level with Labour going into the local elections, and favourites to win the Runcorn and Helsby by-election next week, following the resignation of Labour's Mike Amesbury.
Meanwhile, the Reform leader and MP for Clacton has predicted his side can make major inroads into Labour's northern heartlands. 'Reform are parking their tanks on the lawns of the red wall,' Farage said last week. 'If you are considering voting Conservative in these areas, you are wasting your vote, because if you want a party that can beat Labour, it is now very clearly Reform.'
Farage, suggests Frayne, has been able to seize on the widespread sense of a country on its knees to garner support.
'It's okay for Reform to sell patriotism by being negative because there is a large proportion of the country that thinks England and Britain have gone to the dogs and that we were a better country in the past,' he says.
'You can sell these ideas as Nigel Farage. You can't do it as the Prime Minister. People elect a leader to change things for the better and have an optimistic vision, even if they are very sceptical about whether they really believe things can get better,' he adds.