Parallels to North Korea have been made after the Department of Education encouraged schoolchildren to commemorate “One Britain One Nation” day on Friday with a patriotic jingle.
The song, which repeats lines such as “strong Britain, great nation”, has been slammed after being shared on social media, with one person comparing the UK government to a fascist state.
Former policeman Kash Singh is in charge of organising the celebrations on behalf of One Britain One Nation (OBON).
He says it needs the support of schools to “celebrate the day in the spirit it is intended”.
The site says “OBON is devoted to galvanising the efforts of people from all backgrounds to rejoice in their pride in Great Britain.”
Dr Alexandra Bulat, the first Romanian county councillor in the UK, shared an alternative to the song lyrics.
“We are the government/And we have a dream/To divide and rule/Make xenophobia mainstream,” her tweet read.
And Count Binface urged children to sing Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 instead.
Scottish comedian Limmy kindly pointed out to the government that schools in Scotland will be closed for summer holiday on 25 June.
“Haha. ‘One Britain’,” he added.
Another tweet read: “Absolutely and utterly pathetic. This is not North Korea, for goodness sake. ‘Shared values of tolerance, kindness, pride and respect’ are a far cry from the current state of the UK.”
Paul Bernal, law associate professor at the University of East Anglia said: “And if you don’t sing loudly, Priti Patel will have you deported.”
Another user said the hymn is “quite the theme song for a country whose Home Secretary recently celebrated ending freedom of movement”.
“This is extremely un-British, and nor will it save the Union. Brexit has killed that, along with the prospects of most children,” one person said.
Catio Miles reflected: “Tolerance?
“Tolerance with the Windrush generation? Tolerance with the European citizens who have been forced to APPLY to live in their own homes with their own families? With refugees?
“ The only values of this government are hatred and lying. This is how fascism starts.”
And another user added: “Which country is this, with shared values of tolerance, kindness, pride and respect?
“It sure ain’t the UK. UK government are gaslighting by making us sing shit.”
David Williams labelled the government stunt as “nationalistic indoctrination”. “If my kids were still in school, I’d be proud of them getting a detention for refusing to take any part in this shite.”
“Ah yes, groups of school children singing nationalistic songs has historically always been a good sign for a country and it’s people,” one Twitter user said.
Another added: “It was compulsory to join the Hitler Youth, and my late mum always told stories about how they had to march in the heat for hours and sing songs about ‘the German flag’ etc.
“So maybe I am a tad suspicious when it comes to kids singing songs about the greatness of a nation…”
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