‘My message to the nationalists is this. I am afraid that you do not really love your country at all.’
Lib Dem MP Tim Farron made an impassioned speech against nationalism and the use of the British and England flags to sow division at the Lib Dem conference rally.
The MP for Westmoreland and Lonsdale used his speech to denounce the use of the flags by Reform and the far-right as “a feature of division”.
Farron said: “They should never be symbols of division. They should be symbols of unity and pride of all that we share in common.”
He gave the example of how on a trip to the Hebridean island of Islay eight years ago, when the Scottish nationalists were at their height.
While having dinner with Alistair Carmichael, his mum and other family members, he said she looked across at a Scottish flag on a neighbour’s land, and said “They’ve stolen our flag”.
The Lib Dem MP said he feels the same about “nationalists stealing our flags”.
Farron asserted: “I am a proud patriot, but I am no nationalist, and you can tell the difference.”
He said that patriots love their country, whereas nationalists “hate their neighbours”.
“My message to the nationalist is this. I am afraid that you do not really love your country at all,” he added.
In a veiled swipe at Reform, he argued that nationalists “seem to hate everything about [Britain] and claim allegiance only to a fantasy golden age that never existed”. Politicians who lie about their country at home and abroad, he added, cannot love it.
Taking aim at Reform again, Farron said the party cannot love Britain if it has “no policies except to be seen as the household pet Donald Trump has been so sorely missing”.
The jibe related to Lib Dem MP Danny Chambers’ anti-puppy smuggling bill, and the fact Trump does not own a dog, unlike almost every other US president, which Farron said was “further proof he’s a wrong ’un”.
Farron then called on conference delegates to retrieve a British flag from under their seats and wave it “to reclaim it” with him.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
