Reform defector explains party succeeds because it’s not embarrassed of ‘Rule Britannia’ nostalgia and culture
Who's accountable for the results?
EXCLUSIVE — Reform UK has found great success leaning into a British culture and identity that has long lain dormant among the Conservatives and Labour.
A nostalgic “Rule Britannia” spirit pervades the speeches and interviews of Reformers. A light, cheeky monarchism bubbles up to the surface when party members sing “God Save the King” or are asked about the royals. Oceans of Union Jacks, the United Kingdom’s national flag, can be seen in the hands of supporters at outdoor rallies, and the local pub is held with the same patriotic reverence as the National Health Service.
And that cultural confidence may play just as big a role in the party’s success as the Tories’ broken promises or Labour’s entanglements with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“Reform has understood something that the major parties, for different reasons, have been reluctant to acknowledge. Love of country is not something to apologize for, and it’s certainly not something I apologize for,” Andrew Rosindell, member of parliament for Romford since 2001, told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview.
U.K. Member of Parliament Andrew Rosindell poses with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage after announcing his defection from the Conservative Party in January.
“For years, overt expressions of national pride were treated as faintly embarrassing or politically suspect in mainstream discourse,” the MP explained. “The Union Jack, our history, even our constitutional monarchy, were often handled defensively rather than with confidence. That created a vacuum — one that many voters felt instinctively, even if they could not articulate it in policy terms.”
Rosindell is among the latest crop of longtime Conservative parliamentarians who have crossed the Rubicon and defected, joining Reform UK last month.
The third-party, led by arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, is enjoying a moment of previously unthinkable success. It is polling at the top of British opinion surveys with 29% — followed in a distant second and third by the mainstream parties, Labour with 19% and Conservatives with 18%.
Policy promises to end mass-migration, deport illegal immigrants, scrap environmental regulations, and roll back progressive ideology in state institutions are widely understood as the backbone of the movement’s success.
Less discussed, however, is Reform UK’s embrace of British nationalism at a time when English flags are being taken down by police and the national government is publishing web games …
Who's accountable for the results?
EXCLUSIVE — Reform UK has found great success leaning into a British culture and identity that has long lain dormant among the Conservatives and Labour.
A nostalgic “Rule Britannia” spirit pervades the speeches and interviews of Reformers. A light, cheeky monarchism bubbles up to the surface when party members sing “God Save the King” or are asked about the royals. Oceans of Union Jacks, the United Kingdom’s national flag, can be seen in the hands of supporters at outdoor rallies, and the local pub is held with the same patriotic reverence as the National Health Service.
And that cultural confidence may play just as big a role in the party’s success as the Tories’ broken promises or Labour’s entanglements with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“Reform has understood something that the major parties, for different reasons, have been reluctant to acknowledge. Love of country is not something to apologize for, and it’s certainly not something I apologize for,” Andrew Rosindell, member of parliament for Romford since 2001, told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview.
U.K. Member of Parliament Andrew Rosindell poses with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage after announcing his defection from the Conservative Party in January.
“For years, overt expressions of national pride were treated as faintly embarrassing or politically suspect in mainstream discourse,” the MP explained. “The Union Jack, our history, even our constitutional monarchy, were often handled defensively rather than with confidence. That created a vacuum — one that many voters felt instinctively, even if they could not articulate it in policy terms.”
Rosindell is among the latest crop of longtime Conservative parliamentarians who have crossed the Rubicon and defected, joining Reform UK last month.
The third-party, led by arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, is enjoying a moment of previously unthinkable success. It is polling at the top of British opinion surveys with 29% — followed in a distant second and third by the mainstream parties, Labour with 19% and Conservatives with 18%.
Policy promises to end mass-migration, deport illegal immigrants, scrap environmental regulations, and roll back progressive ideology in state institutions are widely understood as the backbone of the movement’s success.
Less discussed, however, is Reform UK’s embrace of British nationalism at a time when English flags are being taken down by police and the national government is publishing web games …
Reform defector explains party succeeds because it’s not embarrassed of ‘Rule Britannia’ nostalgia and culture
Who's accountable for the results?
EXCLUSIVE — Reform UK has found great success leaning into a British culture and identity that has long lain dormant among the Conservatives and Labour.
A nostalgic “Rule Britannia” spirit pervades the speeches and interviews of Reformers. A light, cheeky monarchism bubbles up to the surface when party members sing “God Save the King” or are asked about the royals. Oceans of Union Jacks, the United Kingdom’s national flag, can be seen in the hands of supporters at outdoor rallies, and the local pub is held with the same patriotic reverence as the National Health Service.
And that cultural confidence may play just as big a role in the party’s success as the Tories’ broken promises or Labour’s entanglements with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“Reform has understood something that the major parties, for different reasons, have been reluctant to acknowledge. Love of country is not something to apologize for, and it’s certainly not something I apologize for,” Andrew Rosindell, member of parliament for Romford since 2001, told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview.
U.K. Member of Parliament Andrew Rosindell poses with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage after announcing his defection from the Conservative Party in January.
“For years, overt expressions of national pride were treated as faintly embarrassing or politically suspect in mainstream discourse,” the MP explained. “The Union Jack, our history, even our constitutional monarchy, were often handled defensively rather than with confidence. That created a vacuum — one that many voters felt instinctively, even if they could not articulate it in policy terms.”
Rosindell is among the latest crop of longtime Conservative parliamentarians who have crossed the Rubicon and defected, joining Reform UK last month.
The third-party, led by arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, is enjoying a moment of previously unthinkable success. It is polling at the top of British opinion surveys with 29% — followed in a distant second and third by the mainstream parties, Labour with 19% and Conservatives with 18%.
Policy promises to end mass-migration, deport illegal immigrants, scrap environmental regulations, and roll back progressive ideology in state institutions are widely understood as the backbone of the movement’s success.
Less discussed, however, is Reform UK’s embrace of British nationalism at a time when English flags are being taken down by police and the national government is publishing web games …
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