You know how rock musicians sometimes complain that politicians – particularly American ones – seize on their songs as a backdrop to their campaigns, without asking permission?

I wonder if the Romantic poet Shelley is spinning in his grave right now, after words from his epic poem ‘The Masque of Anarchy’ – written in anger and passion after the 19th century Peterloo massacre in Manchester – were quoted by the home secretary Suella Braverman in her speech to the Conservative conference, in Manchester, this week.

A few years ago the-then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn received roars from approval at Glastonbury when he quoted the same lines that Braverman chose. At the festival in 2017 he shouted: “Rise, like lions after slumber / In unvanquishable number! / Shake your chains to earth like dew / Which in sleep had fallen on you: / Ye are many - they are few!”  

In Manchester a few days ago Suella Braverman quoted the same lines, saying “I think we should adopt as our motto these lines from the poet Shelley, which I’m shamelessly taking back from Labour”.  

After she quoted those same words that Jeremy Corbyn uttered six years ago, and received no applause whatsoever from the conference hall, she added, by way of explanation: “We stand with the many, the law-abiding, hard-working, commonsense majority, against the few, the privileged woke minority, with their luxury beliefs.”   

To be fair, her concluding words did receive a long, standing ovation from the Tory members present at the conference. But what next? Will Shelley’s words be seized on by the Greens – or even, Nigel Farage?

 

https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1709228129070268648

 

PHOTOGRAPH: SKY NEWS