CORBYN’S ANTH EM CLIMBDOWN
He’ll sing it at future events, but he thinks Rule Britannia is a racist song
JEREMY Corbyn was forced into a humiliating U-turn over the national anthem yesterday, following a backlash over his refusal to sing it at a Battle of Britain commemoration.
Labour said its new leader would sing God Save the Queen at future public events, after he faced a wave of criticism from war veterans and his own MPs.
But last night it emerged that Mr Corbyn, a lifelong republican, is also a critic of other patriotic anthems – even suggesting that those who sing Rule, Britannia! are parroting racist attitudes.
Writing in the communist Morning Star newspaper in 2002, Mr Corbyn said: ‘Football supporters singing Rule Britannia would not realise that they are parroting 19th-century imperial propaganda and racial superiority.’
In an interview last night, Mr Corbyn insisted he was a patriot. ‘Of course I love my country,’ he told Channel Four News. ‘I was born and bred in this country.’
Yesterday Mr Corbyn also kept his promise to adopt a gentler tone in his first Commons clash with the Prime Minister.
He said an appeal to the public to tell Labour what they would like to ask the PM had produced 40,000 responses, from which he selected six to fill the questions traditionally asked by the Leader of the Opposition.
One by one, he read out queries from Marie on housing, Steven on rents, Paul on tax cred- its, Claire on benefit thresholds, and Gail and Angela on mental health.
As he left the Commons chamber, David Cameron was overheard telling George Osborne: ‘Well, that was a lot less stressful.’
Labour MPs gave their new leader’s performance a mixed response, with some likening it to a radio phone-in.
Mr Corbyn had prompted outrage on Tuesday when he refused to sing God Save the Queen at an event at St Paul’s Cathedral to honour the heroes of the Battle of Britain.
Labour said Mr Corbyn had maintained a ‘respectful silence’, but one veteran said he should be ‘taken out and shot’ for his lack of respect and patriotism. Senior Labour figures also criticised his conduct.
Mr Corbyn initially indicated he would not back down, telling broadcasters he ‘did not see a problem’ with his conduct. But 90 minutes later, a Labour spokesman said Mr Corbyn had ‘meant to say’ he would sing, adding: ‘He said he would take part fully, and that includes singing.’
The spokesman was unable to say whether Mr Corbyn knows the words to God Save the Queen.
In an interview with BBC News last night, Mr Corbyn refused to say if he would kneel before the Queen during his Privy Council introduction ceremony. Claiming he ‘didn’t know’ the gesture was part of the formalities, he said: ‘We’ll have to find out about it, okay?’
He added: ‘ Can we think about that? […] it’s not a no… I want to discuss [this] with colleagues.’