Is it Time for the Labour Party to Reclaim the English Flag?

The vast majority of the key battles for the next general election are to be fought in England, so why don't the Labour Party appeal directly to England as the patriotic alternative?

“In an important sense", wrote David McCrone, "Scotland’s politicians are all Nationalists...The emergence of national(ist) frame of reference raises the question of how politics and culture engage.” (Understanding Scotland: The Sociology of a Nation; 2001).

It is the nationalists in Scotland, and to a lesser extent Wales, who now control the the political debate and the language of that debate in their territories. The ground has shifted to such a degree that the only difference between Scottish factions now is in the degree of separation that they advocate: Independence or Devolution-Max.

As if to demonstrate McCrone's point, the Scottish Secretary, Jim Murphy, recently gave a speech urging all across civic Scotland to embrace the flag in the name of patriotism and national pride, but not separatism.

LABOUR has moved to reclaim the Saltire from the Nationalists by emphasising it is the flag for every Scot, not just those who believe in independence.

The Saltire was plastered all over the literature at yesterday's Labour conference in Dundee, has been displayed on Scottish Labour's website and has been used prominently in the party's most recent party political broadcast. (Scotsman, 08 March 2009)

Even the formerly anti-devolution Tories now plaster their websites with the Scottish flag, so conscious are they of the national(ist) frame of reference. The SNP's National Conversation and the multi-party Calman Commission have focused Labour and Tory minds on Scotland but it is in England that Labour holds power and has most to lose, and it is in England that the Tories have everything to gain. Yet it is in England alone that the Labour Party fails to engage with national identity and encourage a progressive patriotism. Instead we are treated to hackneyed discussions on the meaning of Britishness and British values, and our embattled Prime Minister even found the time to treat us to a book on the subject: Being British: The Search for the Values That Bind the Nation.

What about England; what about what it means to be English; what about English values, and; what about the 'Governance of England', in addition to the 'Governance of Britain'?

The Strange but Unecessary Death of Labour England will be an ignominious end for the party of the Red Rose and Jerusalem. To avoid almost certain humiliating defeat next year the Labour Party must address the question of England, it is no longer enough, nor factually correct, to simply accuse the Tories of fanning the flames of English nationalism. It's time to get out the Cross of St George bunting.

Cross-posted on LabourHome.