The vivid memory of fear is enough to terrify the human soul. Memories of mortal terror – like watching ‘The Exorcist’ for the first time through the fingers of your hand as a twelve year old – are capable of firing the adrenal medulla and provoking our most basic evolutionary response: fight or flight?

It is in entirely the same vein that I recall the ‘Image from Rochester’ tweet by the then shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry posted during the Rochester by-election in November 2014. For those Labour types acutely sensitive to the issues this raised, the memory of this affront still discomforts.

Like a hapless, semi-clothed protagonist in an American slasher-flick, I know I should not investigate the noise in the basement, I know I should turn back once the torch battery fails, I know I should not open that door, but every now and again, I gaze upon the abominable ‘Image from Rochester’ to feel the frozen spike of fear in my spine.

It is precisely because of this that I will be flying the cross of St George during this summer’s European Championships as England attempts not to embarrass itself in a major footballing tournament since a time I cannot remember.

And as 23 June approaches, I will find the flag of the European Union somewhere to fly alongside the flag of every English person’s favourite Roman/Palestinian/Syrian/Georgian dragonslayer. In any event, and in all likelihood, an immigrant from the Middle East.

Why? Because the flag issue has come to the fore again not simply because of this week’s publication of a must-read collection of essays ‘Labour’s Identity Crisis’, the impending football festivities, or the explosion of bunting associated with the EU referendum campaign.

At the recent Progress annual conference, I was asked to join a panel to discuss Labour’s future, during which the issues of identity politics were frequently raised.  In the margins of the conference a delegate sought my view on the ‘gesture politics’ which so many in the party now believe is the principal purpose for which Labour exists.  ‘Some people believe that planting a flag is enough,’ she said “but I’d rather be able to look at myself in the mirror.’

This, I reminded myself, is the difference between those who seek power in order to make a difference, and those for whom gesture politics is sufficient.

But it was fellow panelist Owen Jones who made the most telling contribution to the discussion when he told delegates that he essentially did not see much to disagree with the ‘moderate’ wing of Labour about, and that frankly this was because he did not see much coming from us at all: no programme, no energy, no forward thinking and no plan for government.  Who could disagree?

In truth the term ‘Labour moderate’ is an inadequate, almost pointless term. It suggests a meek passivism, a weak derivative of stronger, more powerful and more energetic ideas when nothing could be further from the truth.

This is entirely the fault of people like me and others for whom this term is used to describe.  The frameworks, playbooks, prisms and approaches of the past are redundant – this is an essential part of my disquiet with the party’s current direction of travel – and it applies equally to every part of the Labour movement.

Our ideas do have the passion, energy and clarity required in order to energise thousands of those new members who have joined the party and the country at large and we must now begin to show it.

There is nothing ‘moderate’ about wanting to secure power so that we can continue to make Britain better. The past is a foreign country: its flag is not ours.

As others continue to plant flags in the ground of electoral retreat, it is time to look at ourselves in the mirror and demonstrate the energy, ideas, clarity and purpose required to advance.

As I write, I can hear footsteps in the basement. I’ll be back in a minute …

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Jamie Reed MP is member of parliament for Copeland. He writes The Last Word column on Progress and tweets @jreedmp

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