That Starmer fella...

Sorry what? Do you want to explain further or shall we just assume you mean, because you keep bringing him up, that Corbyn was ashamed of the flag, not proud of, and indeed wanted ill for his country. Because that is pretty crazy.

Is it? Because when I read Lord Ashcroft's analysis of Labour's defeat in 2019, I see a perceived lack of patriotism as being a real problem for voters. All that stuff about not singing the national anthem fed into a public perception that the guy was not patriotic.

And you might say well, that's just the media, isn't it, it's just fluff. Well, maybe, but there's a serious point to it as well. The Stop The War coalition, which he was heavily involved in, only ever focussed on expansionist moves by western countries - it was schtum when Russia annexed Crimea. It was worse than schtum when Assad was using chemical weapons on his own people - it justified it.

Again and again, Corbyn's 'peace making' only ever involved meeting the anti-west side of things. He's met with every dodgy terrorist group going in Palestine - don't recall him ever sitting down with the Israeli contingent, do you? He met up with the IRA guys an awful lot - don't remember seeing him brokering any meetings with any loyalists, though, do you? His meeting with bad people only ever extends to one side of the debate, and it's always the side which fights against our interests.

I don't think Corbyn wanted ill for the UK. I think he'd say that meeting with alternative voices was in fact a form of patriotism - he wanted the UK to be less hypocritical, less expansionist, more aware of its weaknesses. But the people he met up with, hosted and invited to the HOC? Many of them ABSOLUTELY wanted ill for the UK. I think you would struggle to argue that the IRA, for example, did not.

And I think it's completely reasonable to point out how much of a problem that is for many voters. I think, actually, they have a point.