Not the British way?
According to whom?
The British Way™ takes aim at the political reaction to the Portsmouth protests, where ordinary people who believed they were defending Britain’s borders were condemned as “disgusting” before many politicians had even bothered to distinguish who was actually there. The song asks a simple question: who gets to decide what “the British way” really is? For RebelliousBard, patriotism isn’t measured by carefully managed speeches or approved demonstrations. It’s measured by whether people are prepared to stand beside their countrymen when doing so carries a political cost.
The border needed defending
So the public held the line
The politicians needed cover
So they put police between the sides
Coaches waiting, tents already pitched
Welcome packs ready, every box ticked
Ten hours sailing, two ports said no
Portsmouth watched the whole thing come
Beds were found and coaches came
Police were ready all the same
Funny how the state moves fast
When moving people suits the plan
Mask on one face — call him a thug
Mask on another — that’s fair enough
Same black cloth, but change the side
And watch the judgement change its mind
They called the patriots disgusting
Before they even knew their names
Working men became the problem
While the system stayed the same
Masked men stood their ground in Portsmouth
Granny took her little boat
Westminster sent condemnation
Portsmouth sent a fucking no
Danny Tommo called the protest
Masked men came and held their ground
Faces covered, names protected
Knowing what gets passed around
Reform sold them “stop the boats”
Wrapped the promise in the flag
Then Tice preached “the British way”
When British men turned up in black
They like patriotism seated
Clapping nicely from the floor
Wave the flag the way they tell you
Don’t you dare define it more
They called the patriots disgusting
Before they even knew their names
Working men became the problem
While the system stayed the same
Masked men stood their ground in Portsmouth
Granny took her little boat
Westminster sent condemnation
Portsmouth sent a fucking no
Then look at who stood with them
When the easy choice was run
Restore didn’t damn the protest
Didn’t join the dogpile fun
Rupert Lowe went into Parliament
Put their right there on the page
While the others called them dangerous
Restore stood against the rage
That’s the measure of a party
Not the badge or conference hall
Stand beside your countrymen
When there’s something there to lose
Not the British way?
You don’t own the British way
You don’t own the flag we raise
You don’t get to court our anger
Then prescribe acceptable rage
British when you need our ballots
British when you need applause
Still as British in a balaclava
When we’re standing for the cause
They called the patriots disgusting
Now remember who stood where
Who condemned them from a podium
Who was actually fucking there
Praise the masked men down in Portsmouth
Praise the ones who wouldn’t budge
If standing up makes patriots thugs
Who made Westminster the judge?