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      UK NEWS BROWN DROPS ‘BRITISHNESS’ DAY  PATRIOTISM: Labour U-turn   Monday October 27,2008 By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor GORDON Brown has abandoned his plans for a national British day in yet another embarrassing U-turn. He conducted a personal crusade for a holiday to mark the country’s traditions and gave it extra impetus once he became Prime Minister. But critics argued public displays of nationalism were the very opposite of what it meant to be British and the plan was dogged by ridicule. A written answer to MPs slipped out by the Government last week revealed...

Muslims should be proud to support England's cricket team, says first Islamic MinisterBy JANE MERRICK - More by this author » Last updated at 00:29am on 28th December 2007  Muslims living in England should be proud to support the national cricket team and should celebrate the country they belong to, Britain's first Muslim Minister said last night.  Shahid Malik issued a call to the Islamic community to embrace, not reject, Englishness as part of their identity. The International Development Minister said he did not endorse the "cricket test" proposed by former Tory Cabinet Minister Norman Tebbit. But he said...

Migrants face new 'Britishness' test By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor Last Updated: 2:53am GMT 05/12/2006 Tests in the English language and the British way of life will be compulsory from next year for foreigners wanting to settle here, the Government said yesterday. It will bring long-term immigrants into line with people who seek UK citizenship, who already have to sit the tests. Liam Byrne: migrants must recognise responsibilities Last year 180,000 people were granted settlement to stay. Some go on to seek British nationality but others may choose to retain their own while staying permanently. Liam Byrne, the immigration...

Multiculturalism hasn't worked: let's rediscover Britishness By Patience Wheatcroft (Filed: 08/10/2006) The tyranny of political correctness has for years suppressed the qualms that many Britons have had about what was happening to their country. Radical imams were allowed to preach hatred while being funded with state benefits, but few dared to question such madness, let alone act against it. The doctrine of multiculturalism dictated that all beliefs should be allowed to flourish, and to challenge that view was as politically incorrect as pinning up a Pirelli calendar in Islington Town Hall or suggesting that two married parents usually provide the...

What does it mean to be British?By Anthony King(Filed: 27/07/2005)What is Britishness and what are fundamental British values? A YouGov survey for the Telegraph has found that Britons' sense of national identity depends far more on shared values and institutions than on nostalgia for warm beer and village cricket. Kelly Holmes, Britain's double gold medal winner at the Athens Olympic Games, polled 51% of the vote YouGov asked respondents which of a wide variety of words and phrases were important to them in defining Britain and what it means to be British. The percentages saying each was "very important" are...

Immigrants 'should pass Britishness test' (Filed: 03/09/2003) Immigrants who want a UK passport should have free English lessons and pass a new "Britishness test". A blueprint for the compulsory new exam said applicants should learn about the history of the UK. An earlier version of the proposals published in January was criticised for concentrating on how to claim benefits and use the NHS, and for insisting that learning about Britain's history "should not be an imposed pre-condition". David Blunkett, Home Secretary, unveiled the proposals, drawn up by the Life in the United Kingdom Advisory Panel, alongside its chairman Sir Bernard...