I’m back from sunny Somerset where life is calmer, slower and more Conservative!
I learnt, while away, about the British citizenship test which, I am sure, the vast majority of Britons would fail miserably. The test is awful and requires a knowledge of things that, frankly, have no basis in ensuring social cohesion, a better standard of life in Britain or anything else productive.
Worse, some of it definitely suffers from ‘having an agenda’.
When searching, just now, for some links about the test I found the Daily Mail’s alternative test which I passed with 9/10; and this sample test: free sample test.
The sample test should give you an idea of how pointless it all is. Do I care, for example, how many UK MPs there are, what proportion of the population is under 19 or what the Scottish Church is called? Will I understand the importance of queuing or freedom of speech by knowing how many members of the Welsh National Assembly there are or whether the Queen is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England?
Mostly I do not care about this stuff and I would be cautious about condoning any test, let alone one which talks about some of Britain’s constituent nations’ national identities while poo-pooing England’s!
Finally, and before I rest (as one has to after returning from holiday), I would like to reassure Gaz that an English Parliament could mean a reduction in Whitehall personnel… The test I mentioned before requires that you know that there are six hundred and… well, more than six hundred UK MPs. And we all know that’s too many.
Comments