Amongst its other proposals are for an additional public holiday celebrating our Britishness and rebates in council tax and student rebates for people who volunteer.
The Guardian reports Goldsmith's comments that the proposals will
"make it clearer what it means to be a citizen" and would set up "practical measures that may help enhance a sense of shared belongingadding
"My report makes a range of proposals that touch every stage of an individual's life. My proposals are intended to promote the meaning and significance of citizenship within modern Britain
Three Line whip meanwhile is reporting that a minister for Britishness could be on the way
Paul Murphy, the current Welsh Secretary and someone who is known as both a wily operator as well as for possessing what's known in the trade as "a safe pair of hands", is being tipped for a Cabinet promotion.
What's being mooted is that Mr Murphy, who until recently was chairman of the committee that oversees the security services, would become the Secretary of State responsible for all of the devolved regions and nations in the UK.
Update Alice Miles is worth a read in this morning's Times
Perhaps we could have our children pledge allegiance to a national motto. So thick and fast and inchoate tumble the ideas about Britishness from the Government that the ridiculous no longer seems impossible. It is easy to poke fun - too easy, perhaps. For the very debate about what it means to be a British citizen, long a particular passion of Gordon Brown, brutally illustrates the ever-decreasing circle that new Labour has become.
Daniel Hannan in this morning's Telegraph describes the proposals sa
almost a Left-wing parody of how Right-wingers are meant to think. Labour is an unconvincing latecomer to patriotism and, as such, it tends to go for the most ham-fisted and ham-acted variety.
No comments:
Post a Comment