Who is popular today?

The far right have coopted the flower for their own cynical ends, but I still want to remember the war deadWell done, rightwing culture warriors! I’ve worn a poppy with pride every year since I was a choirboy, singing around Solihull war memorial on Remembrance Sunday in the suede denim 1970s, where the solemnity of the situation and the stark beauty of the Last Post momentarily softened even the talented young choirmaster’s yearnings. But I won’t wear a poppy this year.Don’t get me wrong. I still put a few quid in the poppy collection box at my local Sainsbury’s, just now when I was buying some cat excrement bags. But on Monday on LBC, the increasingly befuddled wasps’ nest whacker Nick Ferrari spent an hour extrapolating an imaginary scenario where Keir Starmer didn’t wear a poppy in order to avoid offending imaginary Muslims. (Ironically, the same cynical Starmer deliberately ate Indian food in public during lockdown to try to ingratiate himself with our ethnic minorities, only to lose all the support this gained him by shillyshallying about a ceasefire, his naans nibbled for nothing.)Basic Lee tour dates are here; a six-week London run begins 9 December at Leicester Square theatreDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...