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thomas davison

How our politicians have spent the last six decades betraying the Coronation dream

By Simon Heffer

PUBLISHED: 00:25, 8 June 2013 | UPDATED: 00:25, 8 June 2013
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Summing up the Queen�s message to her people on Coronation Day 60 years ago, the Daily Mail�s front page headline was: �Let us cherish our own way of life.�

Looking at the phrase again this week after it was reproduced in our Coronation supplement, it struck me that however much the Queen�s people have tried to follow that wise counsel, her politicians have usually contrived to do the opposite.

Back in 1953, �our way of life� was understood to mean a monocultural society, rooted in Christianity, with strong family values, democratic principles, a shared sense of pride in our history and respect for the rule of law.
Coronation dream: The Queen urged Britons to 'cherish our way of life' when she ascended to the throne back in 1953

Politicians had an ethic of public service rather than self-service, and society had a work ethic as well as one of tolerance and decency towards others.

But steadily over the past six decades � particularly in the past 15 years or so � those aspects of Britishness and key institutions have all too often been insulted, rebuffed, ridiculed, despised, attacked and, to all intents and purposes, destroyed.

And the wreckers have mainly been MPs who, ironically, swore oaths of loyalty to the Queen when they took their seats in the Commons.

They have been aided and abetted by clergy in the Church of England, of which she is Supreme Governor.

It is true that in some respects, I concede, our way of life has changed for the better during the Queen�s reign.
A shared sense of pride: The 'way of life' the Queen referred to meant a monocultural society with strong family values and democratic principles, Simon Heffer writes

A shared sense of pride: The British 'way of life' the Queen described on her Coronation day in 1953 referred to a monocultural society with strong family values and democratic principles, Simon Heffer writes

Back in 1953, the year of the Queen's Coronation, politicians had a sense of public duty rather than self-service

Back in 1953, the year of the Queen's Coronation, politicians had a sense of public duty rather than self-service

For example I rejoice I live in a country where women are treated as the equals of men rather than as their inferiors, and it is commendable that homosexuality has been legalised.

But these are minor achievements compared with the great damage done elsewhere to the cornerstones of our nationhood.

The education system and welfare state have been harnessed to create a perverted version of �our own way of life�.

The school curriculum has been watered down and shows a contempt for Britain�s history and a disrespect of the country�s institutions.

The now bloated welfare state has formed a dependency culture and fostered family breakdown. The obsession with the flawed doctrine of multiculturalism � which even leaders of the ethnic minorities feel has gone too far and has weakened our national cohesion and identity � has changed Britain dramatically and not for the better.

Many feel they have to apologise for overt displays of Christianity in case they offend non-Christians.
Also, it is repeatedly asserted that the coronation of Charles III will have to be �multi-faith� so as to embrace those who wish to live in Britain but will not abide by its core culture.

Our national sovereignty is a shadow of what it was when we were truly independent, before entering what is now the European Union in 1973.
Changing times: British values have diluted since the Queen's Coronation - particularly in the last 20 years

Changing times: British values have diluted since the Queen's Coronation - particularly in the last 20 years

Losing the right to govern ourselves: At her Coronation, the Queen promised to govern her people 'in accordance with their laws', not those imposed by Brussels

Losing the right to govern ourselves: At her Coronation, the Queen promised to govern her people 'in accordance with their laws', not those imposed by Brussels
As Queen Elizabeth celebrated the 60th anniversary of her Coronation day earlier this week, much of the British way of life she urged her people to cherish six decades ago has disappeared

As Queen Elizabeth celebrated the 60th anniversary of her Coronation day earlier this week, much of the British way of life she urged her people to cherish six decades ago has disappeared

In too many vital areas of life, we have simply lost the right to govern ourselves.

At her Coronation, the Queen promised to govern her people �in accordance with their laws and customs�. She did not promise to do so in accordance with laws and customs imposed in Brussels.

Our values have been diluted, too. The determination by the Left since the Sixties to question the idea of the traditional family, actively helped by government tax and social policies over the past 20 years, has badly damaged this bedrock of society. I cannot help but wonder what the Queen thinks about this.

Certainly, her sister underwent a divorce, and the marriages of three of her four children failed.

Having been married for nearly 66 years herself, and as a devout Christian, she could be forgiven for looking around her and despairing.

Other parts of �our own way of life� that were taken for granted in 1953 have been wrecked or compromised.

The police force has fallen victim to the insidious culture of politically correct social engineering.

Our Armed Forces have been pared to the bone and their loyalty and sense of duty seriously tested, as they are increasingly sent to fight foreign wars in which we should not be involved, at a serious cost of their lives.

Justice is being increasingly politicised, as is the Civil Service � its once ruling virtue of impartiality having been sabotaged by New Labour.

The list seems endless.

As we celebrate the Queen�s six decades of selfless and magnificent service, it is truly tragic that way of life she urged her people to �cherish� has been so vandalised.