Rachel Reeves has hit back at a heckler who shouted at her during a recent press event, saying that patriotism is about more than “a flag in your van.”
This week, the chancellor was addressing the media at a petrol station in Leeds as she announced plans to scrap a proposed increase in fuel duty.
But as she as speaking, a man in a truck adorned in England flags started heckling her.
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The man shouted “Nigel Farage, go on Nigel,” before telling Reeves she was “ruining the country.”
“Get Keir Starmer out,” he said.
As he drove out of the petrol station, the charming individual then shouted at Reeves: “I’ve got British flags on. Am I going to get arrested? We’ve got English flags on here, Rachel, am I going to get arrested? Look at Rachel Reeves there, with a smile on her face.”
The chancellor then hit back: “I love our country. I love our country, and one of the things about our country is good manners. Not very British.”
The incident was widely shared online and it didn’t take long before it caught the attention of Nigel Farage.
Instead of condemning the man’s actions, he posted on X that he would like to get in touch with the man and ‘buy him a pint.’
Now, in new comments about the heckling, Reeves has condemned both the man and Farage.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, Reeves was asked what she thought the incidence and Farage’s praise of the man said about “discourse in British politics today.”
She responded: “I was brought up by my mum and dad to always treat people with courtesy and respect, even if I disagree with their opinions and that is something I’ve tried to pass on to my own children as well.
“I don’t like it when people get aggressive and start shouting, I don’t think it’s the way to conduct public debate.”
After saying that British politics would be “a lot better if people had civil debate rather than resorting to shouting,” Reeves suggested that the van driver was no patriot in her eyes.
“The idea that you’re somehow a patriot just because you’ve got a flag in your van but then you scream and shout at people in the street, that doesn’t make you a patriot,” she said.
“What makes you a patriot is loving this country and treating other people in our country with respect.”