On the strength of Friday night’s Olympic opening ceremony, I think it’s fair to describe Danny Boyle as a “progressive patriot”. The working-class son of a school dinner lady and a self-educated farm labourer, his patriotism is about pride in Britain’s industrial achievements, its welfare state and its tolerance towards minorities.

But the sad truth is that the Britain Danny Boyle was celebrating in some of the most memorable scenes on Friday is either finished or very close to being finished. We’ve lost our industrial base, the NHS and welfare state are being dismantled before our very eyes and even multiculturalism is under threat.

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