The left hate their own country: that’s been a slander of the right ever since the nation state became a thing. The haters of tradition; the exponents of the idea that everything is wrong about the country and nothing right; the servants and apologists of foreign powers; you get the gist. The current status quo and Britain are treated as synonymous. That’s why the Daily Mail went for Ralph Miliband – a Jewish refugee who joined Britain’s armed forces to fight Nazi Germany – as “the man who hated Britain”. He objected to institutions they liked, like the monarchy, you see; never mind the fact the Daily Mail seems to hate so much about Britain, from the NHS to the BBC to women they disapprove of (which is a lot of them).

Cameron accuses Corbyn of 'Britain-hating ideology' in conference speech Read more

And this week, this line of attack flourishes. David Cameron launched an extraordinary attack on Jeremy Corbyn for having a “security-threatening, terrorist-sympathising, Britain-hating ideology”, building on the Tories’ initial attempt to define the Labour leader as “a threat to national security”. Imagine a foreign leader was describing the main opposition figure like this. But Alastair Campbell is right when he says the attack is “not fair” but likely to be “effective”, and initial polling seems to bear this out.

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The left is rightly internationalist. It sees the problems and injustices that scar – and define – our society as transcending national borders, and impossible to solve in one country alone. It wants to bring working people together, wherever they are, because as multinational corporations globalise, labour has to globalise too if it is to be an effective counterweight to the concentration of wealth and power.

But allowing itself to be defined as in any way hostile to its own country – however monstrously unfair and pernicious such an accusation – is a total non-starter. Previous polling finds that nearly eight out of 10 Brits are proud to be a British citizen (and I would bet a big chunk of those lacking pride do so for pretty reactionary reasons). Among certain minority groups, like Muslims, the level of pride is even higher. Patriotism is a big deal for millions of working-class people, and particularly for older people, who Labour and the left generally are currently struggling to inspire.

What is more loving of one’s own country than wanting to rid it of injustice?

That’s why we need a new approach. What is more loving of one’s own country than wanting to rid it of injustice? What is more patriotic than wanting the majority to have a fairer share of the country’s wealth and success? And conversely: what is patriotic about wanting British supermarket workers and lollipop ladies to pay for the greed and error of a tiny elite by slashing their tax credits? What is patriotic about leaving hundreds of thousands of citizens of one of the wealthiest countries that has ever existed to depend on food banks in order to feed themselves? What is patriotic about helping to prop up a murderous dictatorship like Saudi Arabia which exports extremism that threatens our citizens? What is patriotic about chipping away at a welfare state, the NHS and workers’ rights our ancestors fought so hard for?

Groups such as Sisters Uncut are the modern suffragettes | Ellie Mae O’Hagan Read more

This week, the film Suffragette premiered. It is a reminder of how the rights of women were not granted as acts of charity, but fought for, and at immense cost and considerable sacrifice. Last year, Pride told the story of LGBT activists in the 1980s who fought for dignity and equality at a time when they were ostracised and generally despised. Workers’ rights; laws against racist discrimination; the welfare state – all fought for, and at a cost that is not recognised enough. The rights and freedoms we all have today were won by British people who stood up against authority and injustice. Those are traditions; those are values that we should be proud of. If the left allows itself to be painted as the haters of Britain, it is doomed. But it can fight back, and it must.