By Maja Gojkovic

Schoolchildren may have to swear allegiance to the Queen under proposals aimed at promoting British citizenship. The new proposal comes from ex-attorney general Lord Goldsmith who says it would give teenagers a sense of belonging and believes that citizenship ceremonies for teenagers would help improve their sense of what it means to be a British citizen.

Council tax breaks and student fee rebates have been suggested alongside the idea of a “Britishness” public holiday.

Lord Goldsmiths suggestion has come to light as the Prime Minister Gordon Brown commissioned him to lead a review in a bid to strenghten national identity. Goldsmith’s aim is to launch the event alongside the London 2012 Olympics or what will be the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in the same year. His aim is that it could operate in the same way as Australia Day, which is a public holiday on 26 January and is used to celebrate what it means to be an Australian.

Goldsmiths other ideas include a greater involvement in citizenship ceremonies introduced by the Government four years ago where the report highlighted that schoolchildren should take part in the same kind of ceremonies for foreigners taking British nationality.

According to Goldsmith this is a positve move since citizenship ceremonies are a way of marking that passage of being a student of citizenship to a citizen in practice. “It does make sense to promote a sense of shared belonging, a sense that you are part of a community with a common venture, to integrate better newcomers to our society and be clearer about what the rights and responsibilities are.”

Lord Goldsmith said swearing allegiance to the Queen was a “good idea”. He also said citizenship ceremonies need not necessarily have to include this element “It can be a pledge of commitment to the country, it can be a statement of what the rights and responsibilities of citizens are.”

Lord Goldsmith has also hinted at the idea of updating the national anthem by removing verses which are rarely performed.

The views on this new suggestion have caused mixed opinions as a Scottish Government spokesman said it did not support the plan and did not believe it would find favour with parents or school pupils. Labour peer Baroness Kennedy said: “I think this is a serious mistake - I think it’s puerile and I think it’s rather silly.”

Lord Goldsmith also stressed that he could not see why Republicans would not want to swear an oath, even though they may not believe in the present system of government. However, Graham Smith of the group Republic, which campaigns for the abolition of the monarchy said “It’s offensive to people who do actually cherish democracy and who actually cherish the sorts of liberties we’ve fought for centuries.” If children refuse to take part, he added, “are they then going to be told or taught that they are somehow less British or less loyal or less patriotic?”

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said there were “far better ways” of creating a sense of belonging for teenagers than asking people to swear allegiance to Queen and country.

I believe this move is a positive one in terms of encouraging the sense of belonging and a sense that you are part of a community. It may help integrate newcomers into our society and be clearer about what the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in a country. I am not sure if this will be fully achieved by swearing allegiance to the Queen as it includes one ceremony and one bank holiday. Incentives such as reduced tuition fees and reduced council tax maybe the only motive to encourage people to take part and they might forget what being a citizen and swearing allegiance to the Queen or country really means.

On the whole I cannot see this plan going ahead as there is no evidence that swearing allegiance to the Queen or the Country will create a sense of solidarity and “Britishness” but we will have to wait and see as stranger things have happened in the world of politics.

Tags: Allegiance, Britshness, council tax, Queen, tution fee

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