LABOUR is reportedly planning to have party members sing the UK national anthem at its party conference.
Keir Starmer has approved plans for God Save the King at the party’s autumn conference in Liverpool at the beginning of next month, The Times reports.
The paper reports there are some concerns within the party the song could be ill-received by the more left-wing elements of the Labour Party.
A map by UnHerd Britain found that the Westminster constituency of Liverpool Riverside was the least supportive of the monarchy in Britain, beating two Glasgow constituencies which made it into the top 10.
It would be a major break with tradition for the party, which traditionally begins its conferences with a rendition of the socialist anthem The Red Flag.
Starmer is understood to be waging a long-term campaign to woo English voters he believes were alienated by the republican stance of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, who sustained two election defeats before he was ousted.
The party’s four-day conference will begin next Sunday and is expected to begin with a tribute to the late Queen.
The opposition leader could also demand the party holds a one-minute silence in her memory, which the HuffPost reports is being considered for the Conservative Party conference next month.
It is unlikely the party will sing the version of the song which includes a line referencing “rebellious Scots to crush”, as the version most commonly sung at official events lasts just two verses – neither of which include the offending line.
Gordon Brown’s government considered dropping the verse altogether after it launched a review of British citizenship and values.
But the recommendation to do so – put forward by Lord Goldsmith – was dismissed by the Ministry of Justice, which said the song was a “source of pride” to people across the UK, according to a contemporaneous report in The Times.
