London Socialist Historians
1st December
Starmer says his Labour Party has ‘Ode to Joy’ as its anthem. Poll suggests most prefer the Red Flag
Keir Starmer recently told Classic FM (Times 25th November) that the piece of music that best sums up his Labour Party is Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. the Ode to Joy. Starmer said that the combination of choral voices and orchestra was very Labour. He went on that the music has a ‘sense of destiny and is hugely optimistic.
The London Socialist Historians Group, a network of socialist historians ran a snap Twitter poll to see what its supporters thought of Sir Keir’s choice.
Just 13.5% backed Ode To Joy which however was better than the 4% who preferred Things Can Only Get Better. 28.2% backed Billy Bragg’s There is Power in a Union but the majority of 49.4% backed the traditional Red Flag.
Ode to Joy has been the EU anthem since the 1980s but according to the report Starmer didn’t know this or at least didn’t think it was relevant.
Not forgetting the Strawbs’ Heart of the Union
A good song but the Strawbs unfortunately were anti-union
Oh I didn’t know that. According to Wikipedia, which I realise isn’t necessarily a correct source, it says it was celebratory. Oh well, perhaps they or someone backtracked!
Gill