A moment of unity not division

After the mayhem of Saturday came the dignity of Sunday. The shaming events of Armistice Day, with fights close to the Cenotaph and anti-Semitic chants from some pro-Palestinian marchers, were set aside as the nation came together to mourn the dead of two world wars and subsequent conflicts.

The King led the tributes at an event attended by dignitaries from across the Commonwealth, while more than 10,000 ex-servicemen and women marched past the Lutyens monument in Whitehall.

The contrast to the previous day could hardly have been greater. On Saturday, police arrested scores of far-Right protesters who came, ostensibly, to protect the Cenotaph but besmirched the sacred place with threats and violence. 

A mile or so away, some 300,000 people staged a march that the police and politicians had urged them to postpone in honour of the fallen but which was even bigger than on previous weeks.

Opposition MPs say the political row leading up to Armistice Day both swelled the march’s ranks and provoked the thugs. The Met Police, which faced criticism for not seeking a ban on the anti-Israel march, said its officers faced “extreme violence” from counter-protesters linked to football gangs. Hamas sympathisers could also be seen and heard among the throng heading for the American embassy. Fireworks were thrown and, later, breakaway groups harassed Jewish worshippers at a synagogue.

But while the ramifications of this episode are still being felt, with uncertainty remaining over the future of Suella Braverman as the Home Secretary, the Remembrance Sunday ceremonial offered a moment of unity not division. It was one replicated at war memorials across the land, and the familiarity of rituals largely unchanged for 100 years added to its poignancy and enhanced its symbolism. 

The Cenotaph service is first and foremost staged to honour the fallen; but it also acts as an annual renewal of the values of the nation for which they died and whose continuation is evidence that their sacrifice was not in vain. 

It is the only event that brings together the Crown, Parliament, the Armed Forces, the Church and the Commonwealth – the institutions that define the United Kingdom.

At a time when the country seems gripped again by an identity crisis, it is fitting we should be reminded about what holds it together even as some try to rip it asunder.