Parliament asked to let public choose new song to replace God Save The Queen
A MOVE to give England sports teams and fans their own anthem to sing before matches passed its first Parliamentary hurdle yesterday.
England players sing God Save The Queen at the 2015 World Cup
As revealed last month by the Daily Express, senior Labour MP Toby Perkins thinks God Save The Queen should be reserved for all Britain teams, with England sides having their own song.
Backed by several Labour, Tory and Lib Dem MPs, Mr Perkins presented a Bill in the House of Commons requiring the Government to ask the English public to choose a song.
The public could be asked to choose between traditional and modern songs
Sporting bodies would then be told to use the selected anthem at events where teams represent England.
I believe the time has come to consider the question
The Bill got an unopposed first reading and will be debated by MPs in the Commons on March 4.
Campaigners vowed to use yesterday’s progress to pile pressure on English sporting authorities to help find a new anthem for our national teams.
An early favourite is the hymn Jerusalem, previously chosen as the anthem played for English athletes competing at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
The Labour MP thinks that England fans should have a song about England instead of one about Britain
Labour MP Toby Perkins calls for English national anthem
An X Factor-style contest between traditional and new tunes has also been suggested.
Mr Perkins wants God Save The Queen kept aside for Team GB sporting fixtures, instead of being used as it often is as the recognised anthem for England teams.
The change would put England fans on a par with Scottish sports spectators, who have Flower of Scotland, and the Welsh, with Land of My Fathers, in having a national song.
The Welsh National Anthem is called Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, which means Land Of My Fathers
Mr Perkins said: “I believe the time has come to consider the question.
“It has often seemed incongruous to me when England has played against other home nations that, while the Welsh or Scots sing an anthem that reflects their nation’s identity, England should sing about Britain. It reflects the sense that we see Britain and England as synonymous.”
A spokeswoman for David Cameron said the Prime Minister was “happy for there to be a debate” on the issue of an English national anthem, adding: “What matters most about an anthem is that it is sung with pride.”