A senior Labour MP has told leftists in Britain that they should stop complaining and just enjoy the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
As the UK prepares to mark 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s rule with street parties, patriotic puddings and miscellaneous pageantry, substantial numbers of leftists across the country have been whinging about their dislike of monarchy as well as patriotic symbols in general.
However, one senior member of Britain’s premier leftist party has told those complaining about the current festive atmosphere to stop moaning and instead have fun with their neighbours celebrating the current monarch’s reign.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Labour’s justice tsar, Steve Reed, said that those in his party should be more patriotic, and that those within his party should aim to spend the forthcoming weekend connecting with their community.
Reed also argued that it was in Labour’s nature to be pro-Britain, linking the party’s modern origin to those who fought in the Second World War.
“We are Labour because we’re patriotic,” Reed said. “My grandparents fought in the Second World War. That great generation came back from war and elected a Labour government to change the country for the better. You cannot be more patriotic than being prepared to lay down your life for your country.”
He also said that those on the left needed to get it into their heads that loving one’s country did not equate with what he called “narrow nationalism”, and that one can be patriotic while respecting others.
“…you don’t have to demean yourself, and your traditions and your country and its symbols in order to recognise that narrow nationalism is wrong,” the leftist politician argued, emphasising that he counted the day he met the Queen to receive an Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal as one of the proudest in his life.
By contrast, Reed emphasised that he was helping to organise a street party to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with the politicians saying that the event will involve bunting, children’s entertainment, pudding, and a life-sized cardboard cut-out of the Queen.
“We’ve got a group of neighbours and we’ve all got together to plan what I hope is going to be a really successful event,” Reed told the interviewer, emphasising that there was great excitement for what is likely going to be an around 100-man event.
While Reed himself appears to be looking forward to an extra-long weekend of celebrating the monarchy, some of his fellow leftists appear far less convinced that the last 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s service are worth celebrating at all.
In fact, some left-leaning commentators even compared the display of Union flags on London streets to fascism, saying that images of Regent Street decked out in red white and blue in particular reminded them of Nazi Germany.
“Shameful, frankly, and historically highly unpalatable,” GB News reported one leftist as saying about the display of flags. “Besides, the Union flag has become a symbol of Brexit and hence ignorance, racism and stupidity.”
Despite the relative extremism of some anti-monarchy commentators, Buckingham Palace has seemingly made it their aim to avoid discord with those who would rather Britain be a Republic, ordering those in charge of organising the Platinum Jubilee pageant not to play up the Queen too much.
“What’s interesting is that the feedback we’re getting is that if we’re over-glorifying, or over-egging, or if anything looks too aggrandising – that’s what they’re not comfortable with,” The Telegraph reports one of the organisers as saying.
“What they’re doing is ensuring that every reference to the Queen is appropriate,” he continued.