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Bolton council votes for schools to fly union flag and sing national anthem Bolton council votes for schools to fly union flag and sing national anthem
(about 1 hour later)
Schools in Bolton will be encouraged to fly the union flag and sing the national anthem in assemblies in order to foster patriotism among the young after the council voted overwhelmingly in favour of the idea. Schools in Bolton will be encouraged to fly the union flag and sing the national anthem in assemblies to foster patriotism in the young after the council voted overwhelmingly in favour of the idea.
The motion was proposed by Conservative councillor Mudasir Dean. The motion was proposed by Conservative councillor Mudasir Dean, who said he was inspired by his grandfather, who became a "true English gentleman" after settling in Bolton from India in the 1920s.
He told the Bolton News he wanted to show young people there was nothing wrong with being patriotic. "My grandfather came to Bolton in the 1920s from India. He lived here all his life and he was the first Asian to settle in Bolton – he was a true English gentleman and a true Boltonian," he said. Dean's detractors claimed the initiative was a cynical ploy to win votes in next month's council elections, where they say he is likely to face a tough fight in a predominantly white ward against a former Tory colleague who has defected to the UK Independence party (Ukip).
"Throughout my teens and growing up in Bolton, I've seen less and less of the union flag. It's been hijacked by the far right and it's time we take that symbol back into mainstream British, Bolton life." His motion, passed by 34 votes in favour with 11 abstentions and four against on Wednesday night, read: "This council, via the office of the director of children's services, would like to encourage our schools (primary and secondary) to fly the union flag in our school grounds throughout the borough and encourage them to include the national anthem as part of school assemblies.
Dean added: "We hear complaints from people who come to this country and don't settle, and some of it is our own fault.
"If we were more patriotic – if we sang our national anthem and flew our flag – and instilled it in our younger generations, they would do."
His motion, passed by 33 votes in favour with 12 abstentions and 4 against, read: "This council, via the office of the director of children's services, would like to encourage our schools (primary and secondary) to fly the union flag in our school grounds throughout the borough and encourage them to include the national anthem as part of school assemblies.
"This would inspire children within the Bolton family to be proud of being British, enabling them to appreciate our rich history and great heritage.""This would inspire children within the Bolton family to be proud of being British, enabling them to appreciate our rich history and great heritage."
The council will now write to all schools in the area and ask them to consider flying the flag and incorporating a performance of God Save the Queen into the school day, a council spokesman said. Dean told the Bolton News he wanted to show young people there is nothing wrong with being patriotic: "My grandfather came to Bolton in the 1920s from India. He lived here all his life and he was the first Asian to settle in Bolton – he was a true English gentleman and a true Boltonian," he said.
Labour councillor Chris Peacock disagreed, telling BBC's North West Tonight that alternative methods should be considered. "Throughout my teens and growing up in Bolton, I've seen less and less of the union flag. It's been hijacked by the far right and it's time we take that symbol back into mainstream British, Bolton life."
He said: "If you want to inspire patriotism amongst our young people, show the clips from the [London] Olympics again. Show the pictures of [Bolton Olympic cyclist] Jason Kenny on the town hall steps celebrating his gold medals. Bolton council will now write to all schools in the area and ask them to consider flying the flag and incorporating a performance of God Save the Queen into the school day, a council spokesman said.
"That inspires more people into sport, into being British, than ever seeing a flag – which, sadly, because of the Bolton weather, will be flying in the rain most days." But Kevin McKeon, a semi retired school teacher and Labour councillor, accused Dean of making a "political gesture".
Another Labour councillor dismissed the idea as "American". Many schools in the US fly the stars and stripes and pupils pledge allegiance to the flag each morning. He said: "The councillor who proposed the motion is of Asian background and he's standing in a predominantly white ward [in next month's council elections] against an ex-Tory who has defected to Ukip. It strikes me that it was a political gesture and that he sadly felt that he has to appear more British than the British – even though he is of course British-born himself."
Bolton council is controlled by Labour, which currently has 40 seats compared with the Conservative's 16 and three for the Liberal Democrats. All councillors were allowed a free vote on the motion. KcKeon said he abstained, wary of falling into a "Tory trap" – "I think the Tory group were hoping that some of us would vote against so that we could be portrayed as unpatriotic."
He said he also felt the idea was "an American thing to do". In the US many schools fly the stars and stripes and pupils pledge allegiance to the flag each morning.
Another Labour abstainer, Christopher Peacock, said he felt the motion would send the wrong impression. "I feared people would misconstrue it as the council telling schools what to do, and judging from the reaction to this, I was right," he said, adding that he had received a number of emails on Thursday from angry constituents accusing him of being unpatriotic.
There are better ways to inspire patriotism in the young, said Peacock. "For me the best thing that's happened on that front was the Olympic games – seeing all those athletes win gold medals did more to encourage national pride and reinforce British values than singing any anthem."
He cited the example of Bolton cyclist, Jason Kenny, who won two golds in London in 2012 and received a hero's welcome when he returned to the town with his medals.
Peacock insisted he had no problem with singing the national anthem. "I pray one day that I will see Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup final, and if I do, I will be singing God Save the Queen at Wembley," he said.
Bolton council is controlled by Labour, which has 40 seats compared to the Conservative's 16 and three for the Lib Dems. Councillors were allowed a free vote on the motion.
Dean did not return messages left for him by the Guardian on Thursday.