Cllr Phil King is Deputy Leader of Harborough District Council, the Leicestershire County Councillor for Gartree, and Chairman of Leicester and Leicestershire Area Conservatives.
Watching the Last Night of the Proms, I was struck by the enduring power of Jerusalem, Rule, Britannia! and Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory. More than a century later, they still speak of hope, courage, freedom and national purpose.
Patriotism is not nostalgia for Britain’s past. It is belief in Britain’s future and our duty to those who will inherit it. Our task as Conservatives is to make the United Kingdom a land of hope and glory again: confident, prosperous and free.
William Blake did not write of discovering a perfect nation; he challenged us to build one. “Till we have built Jerusalem” calls us to confront what is wrong, cherish what is good and leave our country stronger. For Christians, it also means pursuing justice, mercy and human dignity, with humility about our failures and courage in defence of what is right.
Rule, Britannia! adds liberty. “Britons never will be slaves” expresses the principle that our people will not surrender their freedom to arbitrary power. Freedom under the law – including freedom of speech, worship and conscience – is one of our greatest inheritances. It was secured over centuries by people who challenged arbitrary authority, defended Parliament and resisted tyranny. Many fought and died for their freedom and ours.
Christianity helped shape these ideas. The belief that every person is made in the image of God limits state power and demands respect for individual dignity. Christian convictions nourished charity, education and public service, and inspired many campaigners against slavery. Any account which excludes these foundations is incomplete.
Jerusalem represents the country we aspire to build. Land of Hope and Glory expresses confidence in its future. Rule, Britannia! reminds us of the freedom we must preserve. Together, they offer the foundations of national renewal.
Andy Burnham’s Labour conference speech showed that the Left has recognised the power of this ground. His language of hope, national unity and a Britain worth fighting for was striking. Conservatives should welcome any Prime Minister’s determination to preserve the United Kingdom.
Labour has noticed the patriotic ground Conservatives too often left undefended, and Burnham is attempting to occupy it. Yet the substance remains rooted in the belief that the state knows best: more public ownership, greater government control and promises funded by taxpayers, including pensioners whose triple lock Labour intends to weaken. He speaks of restoring control while reopening Britain’s relationship with the European Union.
Conservatives must offer something different: not Labour’s statism wrapped in the Union Flag, but a confident patriotism founded upon freedom, responsibility, enterprise, strong families and independent communities. Hope is not created by making people more dependent upon government. Britain becomes stronger when its citizens are trusted, work is rewarded and the state understands its limits.
For too long, parts of the progressive Left have peddled half-truths about Britain while Conservatives have seemed frightened of our own shadow. We should never deny history’s darker chapters, but honesty means telling the whole story: parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, the abolitionist struggle, resistance to tyranny and achievements which changed the world.
A recent trip to Northumberland reminded me how deeply that history is written into our landscapes. From Lindisfarne and Bamburgh Castle to the walls of Berwick-upon-Tweed, more than a thousand years of faith, scholarship and nation-building surround you. The Venerable Bede and St Cuthbert remain part of that inheritance. The real history is remarkable enough; we need the confidence to tell it.
Britain is not merely an administrative arrangement or an economy. It is a place, a people and a shared story: a community of free citizens, governed through consent and equal before the law. That inheritance belongs to us all.
But singing about hope, glory and freedom is not enough. We must secure them, beginning with our borders. A sovereign country must decide who enters, who remains and who joins its national community. Without that control, democratic consent and public confidence are weakened.
Britain has a proud tradition of welcoming people who come legally to work, contribute and build their lives here. But integration cannot be a one-way bargain. Those who make Britain their home must accept the values which hold us together: democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech and worship, equality between men and women, tolerance of others and loyalty to the country they have joined.
We should welcome those who embrace those values and contribute. We must challenge those who reject our laws, undermine our freedoms or import hatreds which have no place here. Citizenship should mean a genuine commitment to Britain and our responsibilities towards one another.
Freedom also means the opportunity to work, start a business, own a home and retain a fair share of what one earns. We must get the state off people’s backs, reward enterprise and restore confidence in public services.
We must defend free speech, equality before the law and politically impartial institutions. Kemi Badenoch has made a good start, alongside Lord Young and the Free Speech Union, of which I am a member. Lawful opinions should not invite intimidation or professional retaliation.
Young people need reasons to believe in Britain. They should learn about past injustices, but also our courage, creativity, sacrifice and achievement. Education should help them understand their inheritance and exercise freedom responsibly.
Burnham is right about one important thing: Britain needs to believe again. The question is what we are being asked to believe in. Labour’s answer is the state. The Conservative answer must be the British people.
Our response cannot be nostalgia or anger without purpose. It must be renewal, rooted in freedom, faith, responsibility, enterprise and service. We must build our Jerusalem, defend our liberties and recover our national confidence. Let us make Britain a land of hope and glory again.