Is England coming round to St George's Day?

Keir Starmer urges Labour's general election candidates to 'fly the flag' and celebrate the patron saint

Engraving of St George surrounded by heart icons
Keir Starmer claims Labour is the 'true party of English patriotism'
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Keir Starmer has written to Labour's general election candidates urging them to celebrate St George's Day "with enthusiasm" in a bid to "outmanoeuvre" the Tories on patriotism and national identity.

It is part of an attempt to "reassure swing voters that the party has changed under his leadership" and moved on from the days of Jeremy Corbyn. Starmer's predecessor as Labour leader "often appeared uncomfortable with British institutions and symbols and argued for a 'progressive patriotism'", said The Guardian.

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 Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.