Tory MPs Go All National Front

Once again, the tendency for the Tory faithful and their cheerleaders to occupy the territory once inhabited only by the likes of the National Front has come to the fore, coupled with the continuing onslaught on the BBC. Thus it was that when BBC Breakfast’s presenters made a light-hearted aside at Robert Jenrick having a flag in what appeared to be his living room, all hell broke loose as the backlash of intolerance took hold.

Flags everywhere - GAWD BLESS 'EM

Cowardly DG Tim Davie, a former Tory candidate and local party deputy chairman, forced presenter Naga Munchetty into a humiliating act of public apology - it won’t stop the Tories and their press pals from baying for more of the Corporation’s blood - after the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog decided that it had to be the non-white one who was in the wrong. The Murdoch Sun was also on the case.

James Sunderland - claims to be pragmatic

“It was sadly typical of two presenters to mock a Cabinet minister for the flag and the Queen’s picture in his office. The BBC is being killed by its smug metropolitan disdain for millions of ordinary people’s values” sneered a paper whose “Political Editor” attended Tonbridge School, whose fees are higher than those for Eton College.

Lia Nici - "they should move to another country"

But by now, the adoration of the flags was being taken up by Tory MPs, not least James Sunderland (“Pragmatic and humbled to serve Bracknell”). So humbled and pragmatic was he that he frothed “Yet more smirking nonsense from the increasingly out of touch BBC. This odious behaviour needs to be cut out of our national broadcaster”.

This display of intolerance was picked up by Lia Nici, who represents Great Grimsby and whose father only became a British Citizen in 1969. “Of course if people are not proud to be British, or of our flag or Queen, they don’t have to live in the U.K. Perhaps they should move to another country they prefer?” Shine a light, anyone would think that BBC Breakfast had just re-enacted the Great Train Robbery, rather than just taking the piss.

Ms Nici could also have dwelled on the minor point that she and her Tory pals had just taken away the freedom we all enjoyed - to live and work in any EU member state. But no, she hadn’t finished. “We live in a democracy. No countries are closed to us. If people wish to live in the EU, or anywhere else in the world and they are welcomed, they can move there, live and work there by becoming a citizen of that country”.

Where does one start? All of those member states are now effectively “closed to us” - unless we have the offer of a well enough paid job, sufficient capital to buy residency rights, or both. Now she’s effectively confirming that those who are deemed insufficiently patriotic can just shove off and "become citizens of another country”.

The freedom we enjoyed before has been taken from us. “If we are welcomed” Ms Nici tells us airily. In other words, we may not be welcomed - and as we no longer have free movement rights, there is nothing we can do about it, except remain imprisoned here, in a country increasingly seized by flag-waving, hatred, intolerance - and misinformation.

All that the new breed of not very compassionate Tories can offer us is to do as we are told and stop having a sense of humour on pain of being “cut out” of polite society.

Welcome to the new authoritarianism. Tug your forelock, shag the flag - or ship out.

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