Skip to main content
Patriotism is good for you
GFTU general secretary DOUG NICHOLLS reflects on this week’s VE Day celebrations and the international significance of socialist patriotism
Scotland, Wales, England flowers

THE spirit of 1945 endured as a dominant cultural force until the Thatcher regime arrived to demolish all post-war progress.

Globalisation, based on the freedom of capital to roam and speculate, replaced internationalism.

Privatisation replaced public ownership and a powerful sense of the common good.

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (centre front) stands with L
Features / 16 July 2024
16 July 2024
DOUG NICHOLLS, chair of the think tank Rebuild Britain, encourages creative engagement with the new government on economic matters particularly
Delors TUC
Features / 30 December 2023
30 December 2023
DOUG NICHOLLS, former general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions and lifelong campaigner against the European Union, reflects on the recent death of one of the main architects of the EU
U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Ji
Features / 16 November 2022
16 November 2022
The GFTU has been running education courses on what is really happening in China and the US, Doug Nicholls reflects on some of the learnings and the importance of the recent US-China talks in Bali
Community organisations Acorn and Southwark Defend Council h
Features / 19 October 2022
19 October 2022
In the second of a two-part feature for TUC week, DOUG NICHOLLS, general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions discusses the underestimated strength of community organisations and the value of a new working relationship with trade unions
Similar stories
10m - the Wellesbourne chestnut
Features / 14 August 2024
14 August 2024
Nick Matthews interviews JAMES CROSSLEY on the enduring legacy of Joseph Arch and the need for a progressive patriotism to counter far-right narratives, exploring how historical figures are rediscovered and redeployed
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (centre front) stands with L
Features / 16 July 2024
16 July 2024
DOUG NICHOLLS, chair of the think tank Rebuild Britain, encourages creative engagement with the new government on economic matters particularly
Tyehimba Noskahere
Interview / 8 June 2024
8 June 2024
Ben Chacko talks to TYEHIMBA NOSAKHERE, co-author of a new GMB-produced book about the incredible stories of trailblazers for racial equality
People take park in a Nakba 76 pro-Palestine demonstration a
Features / 19 May 2024
19 May 2024
The pro-Palestine movement shows that with our creativity and drive, young workers can bridge the gap between single-issue campaigns and the class struggle, writes general secretary of the Young Communist League GEORGINA ANDREWS