‘Gary Neville is a political threat to Nigel Farage because he doesn’t think the same'
Gary Neville has accused “angry, middle aged white men” of stoking division in the UK following the Manchester synagogue attack on Yom Kippur. His comments have angered right-wing voices, but is this because he exposes their own shallow patriotism?
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In brief…
- Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville was criticised by middle-aged, white men after blaming them for stoking “division” in the UK through the use of British and English flags.
- The News Agents say people like Neville, from a working class background, represent the people the right-wing claim to speak for and highlight a flaw in their politics.
- People like Neville, with his career playing for England on an international level, have done more for British patriotism than his critics, they add, and expose the “shallow patriotism” of Farage and others.
What’s the story?
Gary Neville's comments about "angry, middle-aged white men" being responsible for division in the UK have angered middle-aged white men such as Nigel Farage and Jeremy Kyle.
The former Manchester United captain addressed division in the UK, and the use of flags to intimidate others in a video posted on social media.
Speaking after the Manchester terror attack, in which an Islamic extremist killed two worshippers at a synagogue on Yom Kippur before being shot dead by police, Neville addressed the strength of the Jewish community in his local area, and went on to criticise the number of England flags he saw on the streets.
“I just kept thinking as I was driving home last night that we're all being turned on each other,” he said.
“The division that's being created is absolutely disgusting, mainly created by angry, middle-aged white men who know exactly what they're doing.”
He also spoke about removing a Union Jack flag from a property development site he owns, saying he had worked on developing Manchester for more than a decade, and never seen a need to raise a flag in that time.
Farage responded to Neville’s video suggesting he lose his job at Sky Sports – which some might claim is cancel culture, something the Reform UK leader claims to stand firmly against.
“Flags are great symbols of a kind of national pride, but it's undoubtedly true that at times, they can be used as a cudgel by which you intimidate other communities,” says Jon Sopel.
Why are Farage and Kyle so bothered by Neville's comments?
Neville poses a problem for people like Nigel Farage and Jeremy Kyle as he represents the people both claim to speak for in the ongoing debate about British identity, patriotism and the approach to migrants in the UK, says Lewis Goodall.
Neville, despite his football wealth, comes from a working class background, meaning they can't simply smear him as the "metropolitan elite".
"It pisses them off so much. It gets inside their heads. They live rent-free inside their heads," Lewis adds.
"People like Neville still have working class families, and in many ways, they've got working class cultural mores. They are more respected and beloved by working class people than any of their critics.
"It winds them up, and that is why they constantly go for them, because they represent a cultural and political threat, because they want them to think what they think - and very often they don’t."
Does Neville expose the 'shallow patriotism' of Nigel Farage?
Gary Neville, who played for Manchester United for 20 years and made his England debut in 1995, has arguably done his part to inspire patriotism in British people.
People like Farage, Lewis says, demonstrate something more superficial and much more performative.
"This stuff is born of a deeply shallow patriotism," he says.
"Like any conviction, if you feel it deeply, you don't need to spend the entire time reminding everybody else how you feel about it."
The behaviour and response from Farage – and Kyle – he adds, are not just shallow, but "childlike".
"We haven't felt the need to have flags hanging from every government building, from the lamp posts – it's not been our way," he says.
"The flag is a symbol of togetherness, that we should be proud of it when we use it – and recognise that there are some bad faith actors who choose to use it vexatiously or badly.
"You can have two thoughts in your head at the same time.”