Thread by @DMinghella

They say anti-Covid measures go against the British way of life.
No. It is British to be mindful of others. To go out of our way for others. Dunkirk came to define British spirit because it was a story about how civilians could play a heroic role in securing the safety of others.

Nationalists and libertarians want us to believe in a Britain of me-first selfishness and isolationism. That is their Britain, and, wrapping themselves as they do in the flag, they think they own - and they get to define - the very concept of Britishness.

But there is a better Britain than the one they portray. It is a decent Britain, a fair Britain, an open Britain. Proud of its democracy, its rule of law, and its protection of the vulnerable. That's why - to the surprise of some - I use the flag, and the words, #takebackBritain.

Because the libertarians and the isolationists don't get to define a country, just because they wave a flag and sing the national anthem.
We must not allow them that ground. We must take the fight to them.
We must fight, so to speak, on the beaches, for a better Britain.

If we do not fight for the best version of Britishness, their sour, ugly version will prevail, and Britishness will come to mean the failure to cooperate, an exceptionalist and dishonest attitude to international rules, and a society poisoned by a fundamental meanness of spirit.

If we want a better Britain, we have to speak up for a better notion of Britishness, and not concede its definition to ideologues and sociopaths.
If we want a better Britain, we have to fight for it, and understand that it is the very soul of the country we are fighting for.

So please add your voice to mine, and join me and thousands of others at reimagine.uk.com

Together, let's #takebackBritain.