Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[The Larch]

Cringe Britannia or North Korea lite?

One Britain One Nation: UK Government wants pupils 'across the UK' to celebrate

THE UK Government has said it is asking schools across the UK to celebrate One Britain One Nation (OBON) Day on Friday, despite education being devolved.

The Department for Education wrote online that it is encouraging schools across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to participate in the event, which one parent told The National is "creepy" last month.

Schools in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council area signed up to celebrate the day, which one Scottish parent expressed their concerns over.

The celebrations involve school pupils dressing up in red, white and blue and singing their "anthem", called One Britain One Dream, which ends with the repeating lines: "Strong Britain Great Nation".

The OBON organisers also state they want to "re-appropriate" the Union flag, which children are encouraged to wave on the day.

[Richard Hakluyt]

I'm assuming that most teachers will refuse to participate in this poundland sub-NK nonsense, but you never know these days.

This is the 4th year it has been held and last year 100 schools participated.

[Sheilbh]

I'm assuming that most teachers will refuse to participate in this poundland sub-NK nonsense, but you never know these days.

This is the 4th year it has been held and last year 100 schools participated.

From their website they were doing stuff in 2013. It seems to be a bit of a one man band thing for a guy called Kash Singh from Bradford - and in fairness from the website it looks like they've done quite a lot of decent stuff around inclusion in West Yorkshire. But it's all a bit weird
https://www.onebritainonenation.com/ceo-founder

It seems they've got a few clips of Yorkshire MPs asking various ministers to pay tribute to him and his organisation based on the description given by the MP, which the ministers (including Theresa May and Gavin Williamson) duly do. This feels like basically the same, the DfE is encouraging schools and providing a link to the organisation.

Edit: Separately - but I think Batley and Spen might go Tory now, mainly because of George Galloway. There seems to be a very nasty campaign emerging there (which always seems to happen when George Galloway runs in a seat ) with quite a big dose of homophobia (the Labour candidate is a lesbian), misogyny and anti-semitism (again all relatively common when George Galloway runs - see his despicable campaign against Naz Shah for example).

I worry he will possibly get enough votes to act as a spoiler

Edit: And yeah - on numbers it seems to mainly be primary schools - so that's 100 out of 24,000+ primary schools in England. They've done very well to get a DfE tweet and coverage in newspapers

[Tamas]

 

[Zoupa]

We can have the whole discussion about cultural protectionism, but the fact is that it has been part of EU's policy since the 1990s, and it's not surprising the UK will now stop benefitting from it.

I love European cultural protectionism - but on this point it's EU policy but it refers to the Council of Europe signatories which isn't an EU institution.

I did not know that, and recant my earlier snark 

Although I believe cultural protectionism (strange name) makes humanity richer in the long run.

[Syt]

https://twitter.com/educationgovuk/status/1406990765906145281

We're encouraging schools across the UK to celebrate One Britain One Nation Day on 25 June, when children can learn about our shared values of tolerance, kindness, pride and respect.
#OBONDAY21
@1Britain1Nation


For more information:
https://onebritainonenation.com

They have an anthem: https://youtu.be/-KAWylrnlvA

{Chorus}
We are Britain
And we have one dream
To unite all people
In one great team
We are Britain
And we have one dream
To unite all people
In one great team

{Verse 1}
Our nation survived through many storms and many wars
We've opened our doors, and widened our island's shores
We celebrate our differences with love in our hearts
United forеver, never apart

{Chorus}
Wе are Britain
And we have one dream
To unite all people
In one great team
We are Britain
And we have one dream
To unite all people
In one great team

{Verse 2}
So many different races, standing in the same place
So many different faces, moving at the same pace
We all stand together with pride in our hearts
United forever, never apart

{Chorus}
We are Britain
And we have one dream
To unite all people
In one great team
We are Britain
And we have one dream
To unite all people
In one great team

{Outro}
Strong Britain, Great Nation
Strong Britain, Great Nation
Strong Britain, Great Nation
Strong Britain, Great Na-a-tion

[Sheilbh]

My favourite take:


I'm 90% sure that song was written by their Founder, CEO and (according to his own blurb) an "iconic role model".

Edit: Somehow it's even more toe curlingly embarrassing with the music

[Josquius]

I better get to work teaching my kid the Internationale to sing whilst the other kids are belting out this nonsense.

[Sheilbh]

Oh no - now I feel possibly like a cyber-bully.

Apparently the song was written by children (which does explain a lot)

[Josquius]

Children do have a tendancy towards fascist imagery.

[Sheilbh]

I mean looking at their website and Twitter presence - which do strongly give the vibe of being a one man band - this is awfully naff, but I'm not sure it's the stuff of fascism:

WELCOME TO ONE BRITAIN ONE NATION

One Britain One Nation brings us together, not to focus on our differences but to celebrate the values we share: tolerance, kindness, pride, respect, and a tremendous desire to help others.

Today's Britain boasts a wonderful array of cultures. It is our multicultural identity that makes Britain so unique.

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.

OBON aims to give a new impetus for the creation of a harmonised society, to make Britain an international model of moral rectitude.

https://www.onebritainonenation.com/

I feel like the founder really means well having read this article from when he won a Yorkshire Award and I feel a bit bad because it is also objectively quite funny, but I feel like he's just quite well-meaning:

Yorkshire accolade for former Bradford police officer
By Vivien Mason @VivienM_TandA Reporter

A FORMER Bradford police officer who says his mission is to unite people of all ethnic backgrounds amid rising tensions, segregation and fragmentation was honoured at the recent Yorkshire Awards.

Kash Singh, of East Morton, near Bradford, was presented with the Richard Whiteley Award at a glittering ceremony at the Hilton Leeds City Hotel.

The award is not made every year but is given as a special accolade when organisers come across someone who, they believe, captures the spirit of Yorkshire.

Mr Singh set up his charity One Britain One Nation (OBON) in 2012 after a distinguished career in the police force.

The charity promotes patriotic events which have so far attracted about 50,000 people.

He said: "I am humbled and honoured that my work has been recognised at such a distinguished level and I feel privileged to be associated with the name of Richard Whiteley, such a great Yorkshireman.

"My life has been in Yorkshire – it is a fantastic place to live and work. The people are friendly and the scenery is beautiful.

"I have created a template for my work in Bradford and my goal is now to take it to every corner of the nation."

Mr Singh moved to Bradford from the Punjab with his parents at the age of six and joined West Yorkshire Police when he was 20.

He rose to the rank of Inspector and in 2006 was tasked with restoring order to the Manningham area of Bradford, which had been hit in 2001 by what were described as the worst riots in mainland Britain.

Within 18 months he was presiding over one of the lowest crime rate areas in the district – an achievement that won him the West Yorkshire Police Oscar, the Criminal Justice Award, third position at a national competition for outstanding police work as well as the nickname "The Famous Bollywood Inspector" among his colleagues.

Yorkshire Awards committee member Canon Keith Madeley said: "Kash is an outstanding individual who is making a huge contribution to the social fabric of Yorkshire and beyond. He is a lovely man who is passionate about the UK and he has been a force for good during his police service and now with his One Britain One Nation charity."


Mr Singh, who is chair and founder of the British Indian Association, said: "From an early age it was my desire to help people and make a difference, and I was always so proud to wear the Queen's uniform.

"I want to encourage all our communities to love our nation and pull together as one people.

Mr Singh said he and his team of helpers at OBON now wanted to get people united under the national flag – not just during Jubilee celebrations or at the Olympics.

"People are shy about bringing out the flag and some people from white communities don't do it because of how it might be perceived.

"Hate crime has increased by more than 50 per cent, tensions are rising, but I am trying to bring out the best in all communities, to bring people together to work in the interests of our country and instil an element of hope and inspiration in future generations," he said.

Other award recipients on the night included Yorkshire and former England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom and former international cricket umpire Dickie Bird.

It's not stuff I'd say or how I'd go about it and I think it is very embarrassing but yeah it feels like his heart's in the right place and I feel a little sorry for him that he's set up this group he clearly believes for good reasons and is now being mercilessly mocked/called a fascist online

[chipwich]

The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,
The Queen has magic powers and will punish us if we disobey,

[Refrain]

[Valmy]

It's not stuff I'd say or how I'd go about it and I think it is very embarrassing but yeah it feels like his heart's in the right place and I feel a little sorry for him that he's set up this group he clearly believes for good reasons and is now being mercilessly mocked/called a fascist online

Does seem sort of weird. What exactly is the sort of fascism on display here? I would think a call for unity, even a very cringey one, would be the opposite of fascism. But maybe Tyr can enlighten me.

[Syt]

I feel like the founder really means well having read this article from when he won a Yorkshire Award and I feel a bit bad because it is also objectively quite funny, but I feel like he's just quite well-meaning:

In German we have saying: "Well meant does not mean well made."

I'm curious about the One Britain One Nation thing - are the Welsh and Scots and English generally considered separate nations within the UK or what would be the usual terminology?

[Valmy]

I feel like the founder really means well having read this article from when he won a Yorkshire Award and I feel a bit bad because it is also objectively quite funny, but I feel like he's just quite well-meaning:

In German we have saying: "Well meant does not mean well made."

I'm curious about the One Britain One Nation thing - are the Welsh and Scots and English generally considered separate nations within the UK or what would be the usual terminology?

Depends on how you are using the term nation, which is a tricky word. I mean in the US we are all one nation but we sure as fuck are not one ethnic group or culture or anything.