There are few more sombre events than yesterday’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. And no symbol is more instantly recognisable than the red poppy.

But where once the poppy rightly stood apart as a tribute to those who gave their lives to defend liberty, today it is just one of an almost limitless number of lapel badges. So ubiquitous has the lapel badge and its cousin, the wristband, become that they are now little more than fashion accessories; jewellery that has no meaning other than “I wear, so I care”.

No lapel is now complete without its own attached ready-made statement to the world that its wearer is a deeply caring person. But in the sea of ribbons and bracelets, any message that they might be intended to send has become almost worthless.

Whether it is the red Aids ribbon or the white Make Poverty History bracelet, there are similar fashion statements for every conceivable idea: pancreatic cancer mauve, “youth mentoring” blue, anti-racism violet, child cancer gold, ovarian cancer dark green, “chemical injury awareness” entwined mauve and yellow, spaying and neutering cats brown, multiple myeloma dark red, feminists against dieting turquoise, “genital integrity” (whatever that might be) entwined pink and blue and gambling addiction orange.

That it is impossible for anyone to guess which one of those I have made up is itself a demonstration of just how fatuous such badges are.

In truth, they do not remotely show that their wearers care, least of all that they have any special devotion to the cause of the latest adornment to their lapel. All they make clear is that their wearers are the victims of political fashion and emotional blackmail.

God forbid that, among certain social groupings, one does not wear an Aids ribbon. And heaven forfend that one does not demonstrate one’s support for Make Poverty History.

So prevalent are these badges and wristbands that the act of not wearing one has become a far more eloquent statement — of independence of mind.

Last week David Davis announced that he would target the “wristband generation”. So much for Mr Davis’s claim that he is the unspun candidate. If he means what he says, we must conclude that a Davis-led party would, like the wristband wearers, be vacuous, ignorant, fashion-obsessed, posturing, trend-following and pointless.