Keir Starmer shares St George’s Day message – as he blasts ‘plastic patriots’
Ahead of a visit to mark St George’s Day, the Prime Minister instead said the flag belongs to the vast majority who want ‘unity over hate” and ‘decency over division’
Keir Starmer said the flag belongs to the vast majority who want ‘unity over hate’(Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Keir Starmer has blasted “plastic patriots” who hijack the St George’s flag to spread hate.
Ahead of a visit to mark St George’s Day, the Prime Minister instead said the flag belongs to the vast majority who want “unity over hate” and “decency over division”.
It comes as he hails the government flagship £6billion Pride in Place programme as the antidote to the poison of populism. It is supporting hundreds of areas to improve high streets, parks and decaying community places.
Speaking before a visit to a community sports centre on Thursday, Mr Starmer said: “The quiet British patriotism: people contributing, pulling together, looking out for one another, is what makes us stronger.”
He said this was on display when communities came together during the summer riots of 2024 as misinformation spread over the killing of three young girls in Southport. Mr Starmer said: “A mindless minority brought violence and disorder onto our streets. But the overwhelming majority chose a different path. Standing together, protecting their communities, and showing the best of this country.”
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Mr Starmer went on: “That is the patriotism I believe in. Not performative, not divisive, but fair, respectful and proud. That is why, at this moment of deep global instability, we must be absolutely clear about who we are. Because how we respond now will shape this country for decades to come.
“That means when people try to hijack our flag to spread hate, we should call it out for what it is: plastic patriotism that corrodes the very bonds that tie us together.”
He added: “I know what the flag of St George stands for. It stands for decency over division. Unity over hate. And a country where patriotism is measured by what you put in, not what hate you stir up. Those are the values I will always fight for.”
In a Downing Street reception – held earlier this week – to mark England’s patron saint, the Prime Minister also said: “Time and time again, when times get tough, we pull each other together and we pull each other up.
“It’s really important we do that, because there’s no getting round the fact that there are voices both here and abroad, who would seek to divide us, who want to set us apart from each other, who want to pretend that in this country, what we really do is to distinguish between people, to find their points of difference, to have a sort of toxic culture of hatred between different individuals, different groups, different communities.”He referred to attacks on synagogues and mosques as “acts of violence designed to send a message to the Jewish and Muslim communities of this country that they are not safe”. He said: “We reject their division completely, and we will fly our flag proudly. It’s our flag. It belongs to us, and we will fly it for the values that we believe in, and they are the values of the people I’ve named in this room tonight.”
The PM gave three examples of people at the gathering who embodied the values he thought of as English. These included Isaac Davidson, a window cleaner who helped to remove racist graffiti from a Chinese restaurant in York last year, and George Sutherland, a volunteer at a food bank in Telford who he previously mentioned during his Labour Party conference speech in 2025.
And he highlighted the work of Ben Huntley, the nurse who looked after his brother Nick Starmer before his death from cancer on Boxing Day 2024.
Mr Starmer told the reception: “Sadly my brother passed on Boxing Day 2024 and it hit me like a bus. But because of Ben, my brother always felt cared for and respected, because of the way that he was treated by Ben and the whole team, and that was really important to a vulnerable man with stage four cancer going through a really challenging time. Ben, I’ll never forget what you did for me and my family.”
He added: “These are three very different stories, all in different parts of England, but they’re bound together by the same values of service, of generosity, and of respect. They are examples of people stepping up in their communities, when, frankly, it would be easier in many cases to step back. But they step up. They’re exceptional stories, and yet in this country, they feel familiar because you will find them in every community across England.”
