The Conservative government has been lampooned for backing a cringe communist-style ‘One Nation Britain’ anthem for schoolchildren to sing that, some critics claim, doesn’t even represent all of the United Kingdom’s home nations.
On Monday, the Department for Education posted on its LGBT rainbow-clad social media profile that they are encouraging schools throughout the UK to have pupils sing the song to celebrate One Britain One Nation Day on June 25th and for children to learn the country’s “shared values of tolerance, kindness, pride and respect”.
The website for One Britain One Nation (OBON) hailed the UK’s “multicultural identity”, touting that “Britain boasts a wonderful array of cultures”.
“Our diverse cultures are inextricably linked by the sole fact that we are British. It is this fact that has prompted OBON to reinforce and revive what collectively unites us,” the group said.
OBON even went on to use communist language, saying that they seek to create a more “harmonised society” in order to “make Britain an international model of moral rectitude”.
Some have likened the song to propaganda from communist nations such as North Korea.
The song has also drawn criticism for its exclusion of Ulster, commonly referred to as Northern Ireland, an equal and full constituent part of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The phrase “One Britain One Nation” can be interpreted as being implicitly exclusive of the part of the UK which is on the island of Ireland.
The issue of Northern Ireland’s integral status in the UK has become a hot-button issue in the country’s independence from the European Union, with the bloc attempting to maintain economic control over the British country through efforts to maintain the Single Market, which would effectively cut off Ulster from the rest of the UK economically.
French President Emmanuel Macron raised eyebrows when he reportedly falsely claimed that Northern Ireland was not part of the UK at the G7 summit earlier this month.
The OBON group’s logo and its use of quasi-heraldic elements is also questionable. The crown motif is not recognisably a British royal one, and is more reminiscent of the Swedish crown. The group also emphasises the unity of the whole nation, yet its logo is flanked by two lions, while in British heraldry the union of England and Scotland — a major issue while Scottish nationalists agitate to break away from the whole — is symbolised by a lion and a unicorn.
Others have questioned why classic patriotic songs such as “Rule Britania” were overlooked instead of the One Britain One Nation tune.
“It’s a godawful song with dumb lyrics. Sing Jerusalem, Rule Britannia, I vow to thee my country, anything… absolutely anything before this drivel,” said barrister Rupert Myers.
The founder and CEO of One Britain One Nation, Kash Singh, defended the song by saying that it represented “unity, pride, oneness, togetherness” and was meant to prepare children with those values for their lives.
Singh, who migrated to the UK at the age of six from India, later serving with some distinction as a police inspector, told talkRADIO: “This country has welcomed people from all parts of the world, millions of people like me who have made this country their home and what we need to do is celebrate this wonderful country that’s given so many opportunities to people like me.”
He said that the song was actually produced by school children in the multicultural city of Bradford, saying: “Seven, eight, nine and 10-year-olds came together with no help other than their music teacher and thought what can we do to make everybody feel a part of this country.”
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka