No surprise at today's prime minister's questions that David Cameron had a go at Gordon Brown over his "British jobs for British workers" slogan, which Brown dreamed up in 2007 as he prepared to take over from Tony Blair.
Brown also suggested at around the same time that everyone flew union flags in their gardens like people in the US. Remember?
One interesting question that lurks behind the current BJFBW row is what is happening to Brown's wider "Britishness agenda", which was his big idea before becoming PM.
Jack Straw was sent off in July 2007 to prepare a "statement of British values" for everyone to learn by heart and feel patriotic about. Brown said on entering Downing Street that he wanted to "set down the values, founded in liberty, which define our citizenship and help to define our country".
Where is it the great statement? The word is that Straw has thrown it into the extremely long grass – that it has been ditched. A few months ago officials said there might be something vague about it in the next Labour manifesto. Now I hear even that is in doubt.
Straw – preoccupied with cleaning up the Lords, or at least being seen to clean it up – is said to think he has better things to do than to play with more fire on the Britishness front. Expect the Tories to have more fun with this one.
