Columnist Nick Ferrari has called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to follow King Charles' lead and praise the role of the Royal Navy in ending the slave trade, rather than adopting what he describes as a stance of a "craven apologist."
Writing in the Daily Express, Ferrari said it is time to remember the Royal Navy's contribution to ending the slave trade instead of seeking to apologise for the past. His comments came as a survey showed that fewer than half of people under 35 would be prepared to fight for the country if required at "a time of need."
Survey highlights generational divide
The British Social Attitudes Survey revealed that fewer than half of under-35s would be willing to fight for the country. Ferrari suggested that most of this cohort have zero experience of anyone in the family having served in the military, apart from possibly surviving grandparents.
For people of his age, Ferrari said it is very different. When World War 2 began, both his parents signed up to "do their bit" - his father joined the Army and his mother the local police. He recalled a story of his mother being lifted into a tree in a Kent field by the Home Guard to help cut down a dead Nazi airman who had parachuted from his stricken plane and become entangled in the branches.
Education system criticised
Ferrari argued that an increasingly left-wing, liberal education system has "virtually brainwashed" children into believing that patriotism is akin to jingoism. He said that while there were undoubted egregious mistakes, the British Empire is not something for which the nation must always "wring our hands with shame and wear a hair shirt."
He also noted that a number of local councils have ordered the national flag to be removed from some streets and lamp posts, which he said explains why younger people have performed a swift about turn in their view towards the military.
Remembrance message
On this day of Remembrance, Ferrari said it is disappointing that younger people have forgotten so much about the nation's military past.
