The King has shown the best of Britain. Zack Polanski has shown the worst

His dignified address to US Congress stood in stark contrast to Left-wing sectarianism at home

Amid all the posturing and platitudes from Keir Starmer, we were reminded this week what real leadership looks like. Unlike our hapless Prime Minister, it wasn’t pious hand-wringing or wisdom after the event. Instead it was a calm, considered encapsulation of everything it means to be British: a good-humoured, conciliatory reflection of our values which paid subtle homage to our proud heritage.

In his speech to Congress this week, King Charles managed to convey the character of these great isles far more powerfully than any prime minister perhaps since Margaret Thatcher.

The monarch spoke about the sacred rights and freedoms we share with the United States: he noted how the Founding Fathers “carried with them, and carried forward, the great inheritance of the British Enlightenment – as well as the ideals which had an even deeper history in English Common Law and Magna Carta”.

He spoke of “vibrant, diverse and free societies that [give] us our collective strength” and the “Christian faith” as the firm anchor that inspires and guides us.

He spoke of the importance of democratic nations standing “shoulder to shoulder” to overcome evil; of increasing defence spending in an increasingly fragile world; and of the inviolable nature of the rule of law.

He called upon our two countries to “rededicate ourselves to each other in the selfless service of our peoples and of all the peoples of the world.”

Combined with a state banquet speech that included good-natured quips about “our own attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814” and how the Americans would be speaking French if it weren’t for us, both orations perfectly articulated what it means to be British.

We are defined by fairness, tolerance and decency. Britishness is about tradition but also liberty, common sense and good humour.

To quote the King, it’s about: “What used to be called in the last war in the United Kingdom, Keep Calm and Carry On.”

The vast majority of Britons will have been respectfully nodding along as the sovereign spoke these carefully chosen words. The King is the human face of a system that our ancestors have spent many centuries diligently building, and we are rightly proud of what they have created.

What a shame, then, to see so much evidence of that inheritance being so casually trashed.

Where was the decency in the anti-Israel hate marches, or in the anti-Semitic calls to “globalise the intifada”, which have found such violent expression on the streets of London in recent days?

Where was the common sense among those snowflake politicians who have only just realised that the real bigots are not those calling for control of our porous borders, but those flying Hamas flags and mourning the death of a murderous ayatollah in the UK?

How did the political leaders of our country manage to lose such sight of who we really are? Almost everyone in the UK knows that it’s a perversion of our tolerance to harbour Islamic extremists stoking hatred against Jews. They’ve understood that uncomfortable truth not just for days or months, but for years.

They’ve known it since David Cameron failed to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood in 2015. Their worst suspicions were confirmed when Suella Braverman called out the two-tier policing of the anti-Israel mob and was sacked for it.

They’ve seen this coming because they understand that these antiSemitic fanatics are the complete antithesis of what it means to be British. Britain is still a wonderful country. It’s not broken – yet. But the fanatics of the Left, in Labour and the Green Party, are doing their best to make it that way.

Voters can see, with David

Paulden’s name change to Zack Polanski, along with his bizarre claim to hypnotise women into having bigger breasts, that something is not quite right with this once respectable party. They can tell that this supposedly environmental movement has ceased caring about cleaning rivers and seas and has instead dedicated itself to chanting “From the River to the Sea” in a cynical bid to win Muslim votes off Labour and the Gaza independents. They’ve recognised that the party’s deputy leader, Mothin Ali, isn’t just a wellmeaning “gardener”, but someone who seemed to justify the October 7

Subtle homage: the King delivered a good-humoured, conciliatory reflection of British values

attacks and described a rabbi as an “animal”. Voters aren’t Islamophobic for questioning whether a councillor who shouts “Allahu Akbar” upon being elected has any place in British politics. They are simply calling out sectarianism when they see it. Because the British have been here before. They remember what Winston Churchill once said about those who do not learn from history being condemned to repeat it.

They can see, too, how fragile is the political and constitutional inheritance that all of us now enjoy. Labour’s abandonment of trial by jury in many cases is a stain on this great nation.

Neither are voters likely to be enamoured at the stuffing of the Lords with tarnished Labour apparatchiks such as Lord Doyle. They find such manoeuvres an affront not only to democracy but to common decency.

Another important thread in the tapestry of British identity is basic civility. We are supposed to be a civilised society, operating with courtesy and politeness.

To be British is to have respect for others – to listen to them and to show patience and empathy. It’s about fostering a respectful environment.

Yet what do we have today? A supposedly “progressive” coterie that smears its opponents, won’t “kiss a Tory” and brands feminists who believe in biological sex “ugly”.

A misdirected minority that prioritises the rights of illegal immigrants over people born and raised here.

It took centuries for us to build Britain. Don’t be surprised if it takes far less time to lose it.