I will never surrender the flag. It represents the diverse, plural, generous nature of our country. No group, party, skin colour, ethnicity or religion owns patriotism. Those who build this country up are patriots. Those who stoke fear and division are not.
Last week colleagues from all parties contributed to a debate I secured in Parliament on strengthening community cohesion. We discussed the challenges, and they are serious. We are living in an increasingly divided world. Strong forces are pulling us apart. Strong currents are dragging us out to sea. Powerful intoxicants of the snake oil variety, in commerce, politics and the media, are undermining the sense of community we all know, innately, is valuable.
Our sense of belonging is under threat from online toxicity and barely concealed racism. Yet everyday patriots, the volunteers, grafters, remind us what community truly means and what it means to be British.
Community hinges on human interaction. We are social beings, pack animals at heart, and we rely on bonds with those around us. But rapid urbanisation has made fulfilling that need harder. As cities grow larger, people often feel further apart. Social media has supercharged this. Without face-to-face contact, we lose opportunities to understand one another, to accept differences, to build unity. Technology can detach us: friendly interactions become electrical pulses down fibre-optic cables, while abuse is amplified by algorithms designed to promote conflict.
Never have we felt so far apart while, technologically, being so close.
This fraying sense of community has begun to manifest in troubling ways. Nowhere was this more visible than in the demonstrations of flags last summer. For many, these displays did not feel like a celebration of national pride. They left people feeling frightened, fragmented and unwelcome.
I support any true patriot. Anyone who cheers on our national teams, who works in our health service, who educates our children, who volunteers at a food bank, who drives the bus with a smile: you are patriots and I commend you.
Last year I convened a faith forum, bringing together leaders from different religions and denominations to explore how we strengthen community bonds. I regularly visit churches, temples and other places of worship. They play a vital role in nurturing belonging and tolerance.
Rugby is full of shining examples. The Benn Partnership’s community centre offers meet-and-eat schemes, community lunches, arts sessions, language classes and more: practical work that brings people together. Rugby’s Peace Walk unites people of all faiths and none.
In each case, the common denominator is the human element. When we meet people who look, speak or worship differently, we discover common ground. Through these encounters, horizons broaden and bonds strengthen. We realise we share the same fears, the same hopes, the same desire for peaceful, happy lives. Exposure to difference does not divide us. It draws us closer.
Building cohesion is an ongoing process that requires constant nurturing. Different parties and governments have taken different approaches, but the principle remains: if the mainstream fails to strengthen community bonds, others will try to fracture them.
I commend the Jo Cox Foundation for its work building bridges where others would build barriers. Racism, xenophobia, myths and lies must be confronted wherever they appear. The Government has recognised the rising toxicity in our society, and MHCLG has established a taskforce to understand the drivers behind the decline in community cohesion. I welcome that.
But this is not a task for government alone. It falls to all of us, in education, in culture, in sport, in how we treat the person next to us in the queue. Everyone taking responsibility. Everyone playing their part.
The true patriots are those who strive to strengthen the bonds between citizens every day. They are the best of us, and I will champion them for as long as I have the privilege of serving as Member of Parliament. To misquote JFK: ask not what your community can do for you, but what you can do to strengthen your community.
