Time for Labour to reclaim Englishness | Letters
John Harris (Don’t allow England to be recast as a nation of bigots, 10 October) is right. Labour must reclaim Englishness. Shelley expected us to need centuries to evolve true internationalist consciousness. Leftists demand it now, regarding English patriotism as supremacism (wrong, and counterproductive: forced denial of self hardly promotes acceptance of others!). Fear of self-annihilation and top-down supra-nationalism caused Brexit. Worse may follow unless Labour listens and addresses the dangerous disconnect from our institutions. Too late on Europe, sadly, but the British entity could be saved by recognising its constituent parts and building a federation (with an English parliament), utilising PR to produce diverse, representative, honest parties, but requiring them to cooperate to govern: more local, responsive, inclusive.
Labour must adapt and lead. To disapprove of celebrating Shakespeare, Tallis, Keats, the Beatles, and taking pride in them being English, is Stalinist and, frankly, weird. Promoting sensible English patriotism may be the best way to counter racism. Sadly, Labour now seems too ideologically hidebound to change; too intellectually lightweight to seek imaginative solutions. Advice from this member? Open your ears, eyes and minds, or irrelevance beckons.
Tim Thorp
Nottingham
The refusal to allow parliament to debate the terms of Brexit is strikingly similar to the restriction of Labour MPs’ right to determine membership of the shadow cabinet. The rationale for both decisions is the suspicion that MPs will subvert the will of the people, ie those who voted for Brexit or grassroots Labour members. If I am correct in this view, it is a terrible indictment of our parliamentary system.
Jim Pettman
Anglars-Juillac, France
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