An ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Labour Party and his most likely successor, Brown said that Britain Day will certainly unite the subjects of the Crown, raise their self-awareness and, ultimately, become a day of celebration of the British spirit. For now, as follows from Brown's lengthy speech, the British people acutely feel their disunity.
As proof, the minister recalled the tragic July events, when terrorist attacks were committed in London. “We must admit the unpleasant fact that although Britain responded with dignity to the July 7 attacks, the criminals were British citizens, those who, having been born in Britain and integrated into society, turned out to be ready to kill and maim their own fellow citizens. We must have a clearer idea of how different cultures, which inevitably have many differences, can find a common goal, without which no society can prosper,” Brown said.
According to the minister and his like-minded people, the search for this common goal should be facilitated by Britain Day, during which the British will be able to rejoice without hesitation about the history and culture of their country and, with pride and reverence, hoist national flags on their houses. At the same time, Brown does not hide that he would like to adopt the glorious traditions of the American people, who have created a cult of the national flag. “What is our analogue of a day of national celebration of who we are and where we are heading?” Gordon Brown asked in his speech, calling on the Labour Party to become true patriots and stop being ashamed of feelings dictated by the ideas of freedom, legality and responsibility. “Instead of, like the British National Party (BNP), using the flag to incite racial intolerance, we must turn the flag into a symbol of unification, as well as part of a modern manifestation of patriotism.”
It should be noted that BNP leader Nick Griffin rejects accusations that his party incites racial hatred and, on the contrary, accuses Blair's government of humiliating the people and ignoring the aspirations of the British. “About fifty Belfasts and Londonderrys are about to explode in this country. This will happen if sufficiently radical measures are not taken,” Griffin said not long ago. As appropriate measures, the head of British nationalists, in particular, proposes the adoption of a program of “assistance with repatriation” of immigrants. In addition, the BNP manifesto says that “indigenous Britons” should have advantages in matters such as the distribution of housing and school places. At the same time, the BNP logo looks like this: the British flag enclosed in a ring of three letters – BNP. This is what prompted Gordon Brown to declare that it is necessary to take the “Union Jack” away from the far right – so that the flag ceases to be associated with intolerance and discrimination against immigrants. “The entire United Kingdom should be proud of it; we must show that the ‘Union Jack’ is by definition a flag of tolerance and unity.”
Among the more than 30 British holidays, there are those that symbolize the unity of the nation, for example Remembrance Sunday – the Sunday closest to November 11, when throughout Britain the memory of those killed in the two world wars is honored. But this, Gordon Brown decided, is not enough. “Just as in wartime, when the feeling of a single patriotic goal inspired the country, so in peacetime patriotism can inspire our people,” said the British finance minister.