Unlike Reform, Labour is driven by British values

I grew up in a family built on British values, on service, duty and hard work. My grandfather hunted Nazi U-boats before becoming a Colman’s Mustard salesman. My father dedicated his career to policing, while my mother cared for the vulnerable, ensuring dignity and respect for those in need.

- MIKE TAPP

At 20, I joined the Intelligence Corps, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, before tackling criminals with the National Crime Agency and later working in counterterrorism to defend Britain’s democracy and security. British values are not abstract to me – they are what I have fought for.

We defend these values not with slogans, but with action. That means rejecting the extremities of politics and focusing on what truly makes Britain great: democracy, the rule of law, respect, firmness, decency and opportunity. British values are mirrored by our armed forces, who embody discipline, professionalism and a commitment to protecting those who cannot defend themselves.

Strength matters, but let’s be clear; leadership without decency is weakness, something we see at both ends of the extremes. True leadership is knowing when to stand firm and when to show diplomacy. It is understanding that decency is not a weakness but a necessity.

For more than a century, these values have guided our democracy. Britain has always rejected extremism. When the far right threatened our democratic values in the 1930s, we defeated them. When the hard left rejected economic responsibility in the 1980s, we rejected them. Today, Britain again needs competence over ideology, fairness over division, and leadership over chaos.