Welsh, English, Union Jack and Scottish flags were given out to supporters at Labour party conference in Liverpool, with the PM urging members to wave them in solidarity
Starmer urges Labour conference to ‘wave those flags’
Keir Starmer has sought to reclaim British flags from Reform and vowed to “never surrender them”.
Welsh, English, Union Jack and Scottish flags were given out to supporters at Labour party conference in Liverpool, with the PM urging members to wave them to show they “belong to all of us”. His call came just minutes after Mr Starmer had claimed Nigel Farage “doesn’t like Britain” and “doesn’t believe in Britain”.
Encouraging the waving of flags, he said: “Britain stands at a fork in the road.
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“But at the end of the road, there will be a new country, a land of dignity and respect. Our flags flying proudly as we celebrate difference and oppose racism.
“Let’s fly all our flags conference. Because they are flags. They belong to all of us, and we will never surrender them.” The PM had earlier called out Reform UK, and accused Mr Farage of disliking Britain.
He said: “We can all see these snake oil merchants, on the right, on the left, but be in no doubt, conference, none of them have any interest in national renewal, because decline is good for their business.
“When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future?
“He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it as much as he does.
“And so he resorts to grievance. They all do it. They want to turn this country, this proud, self-reliant country, into a competition of victims.”
The Labour leader also criticised the brick throwing seen during the Southport riots, saying that was not legitimate protest.
He said: “There is a line, a moral line, and it isn’t just Farage who crosses it.
“There are also people who should know better, sowing fear and discord across our country, and then, when we call that out, they pretend we’re criticising reasonable concerns about immigration.
“We have seen that trick, conference, so let us spell it out, once and for all: Controlling migration is a reasonable goal, but if you throw bricks and smash up private property, that’s not legitimate – that is thuggery.”
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