Britain's victory in World War II, while vital, has locked many Britons into a mental straitjacket, unable to let go of a war that has been eulogised out of all proportion, according to a recent opinion piece. This nostalgia is being manipulated by right-wing opportunists who view every event through the prism of Dunkirk or D-Day.
Farage's Operation Fortress
Nigel Farage recently announced a plan to stop migrant boats by marshalling the Royal Navy to drag them back to France, calling it 'Operation Fortress' and claiming it would be 'the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two'. Despite the fact that the UK lacks a fully-functioning Navy—even the warship on Reform's brochure was sold to Brazil eight years ago—and military experts and French authorities mocked the plan, Farage's popularity rose in the polls.
Historical Ignorance and French Sacrifice
When France described the plan as a violation of sovereignty, Reform MP Sarah Pochin tweeted: 'Pity the French did not show the same resolve in defending their sovereignty in June 1940.' This ignores that as many as 570,000 French people died in WWII, more than half of them civilians, compared to 450,000 Britons.
The Myth of British Superiority
The right has profited from the myth that British sacrifice alone defeated Hitler, a lie that won Brexit. Examples include Vote Leave's use of The Great Escape soundtrack, billboards urging drivers to 'Halt ze German advance! Vote Leave,' and Tory Mark Francois claiming his D-Day veteran father never submitted to bullying by any German.
Inconsistencies and Fantasy
The article questions the need for 'Operation Fortress' when Farage previously assured that mass deportations would end the small boats crisis, and Brexit was supposed to make Britain border-secure. With Labour cutting Channel crossings by 44% this year, the distraction is seen as unnecessary. The piece concludes that such fantasy politics avoids answering real questions, instead using dog-whistle rhetoric to claim immigration is the root of all problems, reinforcing the illusion of a glorious, all-white, problem-free past.
