Red Flags: The Far-Right Warning Signs Keir Starmer Is Refusing to See
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"I always sit in front of a Union Jack and I've been doing it for years," Keir Starmer told the BBC this week, when asked about far-right activists vandalising roundabouts around the country with the painted St George Cross.
"I'm very encouraging of flags" he told the broadcaster.
Not wishing to be outdone by her boss, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed, later telling the BBC that: "We actually have Union Jack bunting on our garden shed at the moment. I've got St George's flags. I've got St George's bunting… I've got Union Jack flags and tablecloths. We've got the lot."
Of course in the current political and media climate, simply smothering your own living quarters with patriotic regalia isn't quite enough to prove your inherent Britishness. For that you also need to signal your discomfort around foreign people.
Asked by the BBC's Matt Chorley how he would feel if there was an asylum hotel on his own street and "your daughter was having to walk past one of these hotels every day?" Keir Starmer replied that "I completely get it".
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Failing in any way to push back against the false far-right claim that refugees are inherently prone to be sexual predators, the Prime Minister insisted that: "I understand why people want the hotels closed. I want them closed".
The fact that the national public service broadcaster is even asking such questions of Keir Starmer is a sign of quite what a dangerous spot we are now in.
Eleven years ago when Nigel Farage insisted that he would feel uncomfortable living next to Romanian immigrants, he was widely condemned for his comments, with then Labour leader Ed Miliband calling them a "racial slur", yet now such sentiments are apparently not only condoned, but actively encouraged by our Labour Government.
Are you frightened of being sexually assaulted by a foreigner? Don't worry, your prime minister gets it. And he's willing to smother his home in Union Jacks just to prove the point.
Where Is the Political Leadership Against This Violent Far-Right Movement Terrorising Britain?
The silence of senior mainstream politicians and media organisations against the rise of a new well-organised far-right movement on Britain's streets is a disgrace, argues Adam Bienkov
Adam Bienkov
Echoes From History
I was thinking about all this while walking through Welling in South East London earlier this morning. This mostly white, working-class suburban area was previously host to the headquarters of the far-right BNP, which had its offices above a bookshop in the town.
Their presence coincided with a big increase in racist attacks in the local area, and was followed by the murder of Stephen Lawrence in nearby Eltham. Lawrence's death was a turning point for race-relations in Britain, exposing the institutionalised racism in the criminal justice system and helped spur on national campaigns to rid British culture of such violent racist instincts.
Among those fighting to make that change at the time was Keir Starmer, who as Director of Public Prosecutions later helped to bring Lawrence's killers to justice.
Marking the anniversary of his death last year Starmer Tweeted that: "I was proud to help bring his killers to justice, and I will continue my work with his mother, my friend Baroness Doreen Lawrence to rid our society of racism and break down barriers to opportunity for all young people.
"We will honour Stephen's legacy for ch...
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
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"I always sit in front of a Union Jack and I've been doing it for years," Keir Starmer told the BBC this week, when asked about far-right activists vandalising roundabouts around the country with the painted St George Cross.
"I'm very encouraging of flags" he told the broadcaster.
Not wishing to be outdone by her boss, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed, later telling the BBC that: "We actually have Union Jack bunting on our garden shed at the moment. I've got St George's flags. I've got St George's bunting… I've got Union Jack flags and tablecloths. We've got the lot."
Of course in the current political and media climate, simply smothering your own living quarters with patriotic regalia isn't quite enough to prove your inherent Britishness. For that you also need to signal your discomfort around foreign people.
Asked by the BBC's Matt Chorley how he would feel if there was an asylum hotel on his own street and "your daughter was having to walk past one of these hotels every day?" Keir Starmer replied that "I completely get it".
ENJOYING THIS ARTICLE? HELP US TO PRODUCE MORE
Receive the monthly Byline Times newspaper and help to support fearless, independent journalism that breaks stories, shapes the agenda and holds power to account.
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PAY MONTHLY - £3.75 A MONTH
MORE OPTIONS
We're not funded by a billionaire oligarch or an offshore hedge-fund. We rely on our readers to fund our journalism. If you like what we do, please subscribe.
Failing in any way to push back against the false far-right claim that refugees are inherently prone to be sexual predators, the Prime Minister insisted that: "I understand why people want the hotels closed. I want them closed".
The fact that the national public service broadcaster is even asking such questions of Keir Starmer is a sign of quite what a dangerous spot we are now in.
Eleven years ago when Nigel Farage insisted that he would feel uncomfortable living next to Romanian immigrants, he was widely condemned for his comments, with then Labour leader Ed Miliband calling them a "racial slur", yet now such sentiments are apparently not only condoned, but actively encouraged by our Labour Government.
Are you frightened of being sexually assaulted by a foreigner? Don't worry, your prime minister gets it. And he's willing to smother his home in Union Jacks just to prove the point.
Where Is the Political Leadership Against This Violent Far-Right Movement Terrorising Britain?
The silence of senior mainstream politicians and media organisations against the rise of a new well-organised far-right movement on Britain's streets is a disgrace, argues Adam Bienkov
Adam Bienkov
Echoes From History
I was thinking about all this while walking through Welling in South East London earlier this morning. This mostly white, working-class suburban area was previously host to the headquarters of the far-right BNP, which had its offices above a bookshop in the town.
Their presence coincided with a big increase in racist attacks in the local area, and was followed by the murder of Stephen Lawrence in nearby Eltham. Lawrence's death was a turning point for race-relations in Britain, exposing the institutionalised racism in the criminal justice system and helped spur on national campaigns to rid British culture of such violent racist instincts.
Among those fighting to make that change at the time was Keir Starmer, who as Director of Public Prosecutions later helped to bring Lawrence's killers to justice.
Marking the anniversary of his death last year Starmer Tweeted that: "I was proud to help bring his killers to justice, and I will continue my work with his mother, my friend Baroness Doreen Lawrence to rid our society of racism and break down barriers to opportunity for all young people.
"We will honour Stephen's legacy for ch...
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