It's the Corbyn and the National Anthem thread......

[Anchorman]

     OK, I might as well start a thread on this, 'cos no-one else has.
The MSM is in melt down over Corbyn's refusal to sing the National Anthem yesterday, despite aceeding to the Lord Chancellor's advice that standing respectfully was fine.
Was he right in not singing the song....a stance he has maintained for decades?

Typical of the reactionary press that they focus on this, rather than the actual policies Corbyn stands for.

[Nearly Sane]

Burn the witch Corbyn!

[Aruntraveller]

Some of the papers were running with the line that it was disrespectful to all the old servicemen to not sing it.

Actually that is a lie - I thought it was quite respectful of him to mirror my late fathers republican leanings.

They are such a bunch of [insert epithet here]

No doubt had he sung the national anthem they would have run with the line that he wasn't a man of principle.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Shaker]

Since we don't live in a dictatorship, whether you sing the national anthem (which isn't) or not is a matter of your own choice. We don't have to sing religious-themed hymns to the head of state, unlike some places in the world.

[Nearly Sane]

I have never sung the national Anthem as an a adult. The brouhaha is farcical.

[Shaker]

Some of the papers were running with the line that it was disrespectful to all the old servicemen to not sing it.

Actually that is a lie - I thought it was quite respectful of him to mirror my late fathers republican leanings.

They are such a bunch of [insert epithet here]

No doubt had he sung the national anthem they would have run with the line that he wasn't a man of principle.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

This is exactly the case, and precisely what you'd expect of a bunch of swivel-eyed right-wingers. If JC had sung along, we'd now be hearing all about what a hypocrite he is since he's definitely a republican and possibly, according to rumour at any rate, an atheist. (Which one would expect anyway, as he's a highly intelligent thinking man).

[Anchorman]

I spoke to a 95 year old this morning.
Bill  was there on the beaches on D-Day, and fought on into 1945...staying in Germany till early '47.
He admired Corbyn's stance and found it in no way disrespectful to the memory of those who fell.
In fact he said if there was a way of getting out of swearing an oath of allegiance to the monarch when he was called up, the queue to take it would have stretched for miles!

[Outrider]

I'm always skeptical of rabble-rousing posts I see on Facebook, but I do sometimes wonder which ones have a grain of truth: the one I saw this morning was allegedly a serviceman at the event commenting that Corbyn was quiet and respectful, whilst the defence secretary spent most of his time trying to catch the camera and Cameron spent most of his time glad-handing military bigwigs.

O.

[Anchorman]

Whether I agree with the man or not, it's refreshing to see a politician stand by long held principles.

[jakswan]

Whether I agree with the man or not, it's refreshing to see a politician stand by long held principles.

I would agree if that is what he did, as it is he claims his mind was on something else.

Must say I'm warming to Corbyn, if not his polices, all other politicians come across as bland clones.

[Nearly Sane]

Whether I agree with the man or not, it's refreshing to see a politician stand by long held principles.

I would agree if that is what he did, as it is he mind was one something else.

Must say I'm warming to Corbyn, if not his polices, all other politicians come across as bland clones.

though it now looks like he will sing it in future - at least it will be better than John Redwood and the Welsh national anthem

[ekim]

During the war, the cinemas used to play the national anthem at the end of the show and the audience stood to attention.  Mostly there was a stampede to get to the exit before it was played leaving a few stalwarts behind.

As a collective positive affirmation, 'long to rein over us' seems to have worked.

[Nearly Sane]

During the war, the cinemas used to play the national anthem at the end of the show and the audience stood to attention.  Mostly there was a stampede to get to the exit before it was played leaving a few stalwarts behind.

As a collective positive affirmation, 'long to rein over us' seems to have worked.

and for a long time after the war

[jakswan]

Whether I agree with the man or not, it's refreshing to see a politician stand by long held principles.

I would agree if that is what he did, as it is he mind was one something else.

Must say I'm warming to Corbyn, if not his polices, all other politicians come across as bland clones.

though it now looks like he will sing it in future - at least it will be better than John Redwood and the Welsh national anthem

I don't know why he didn't just say 'look I don't believe in a god and think the monarchy sucks so I'm not singing "God save our Queen"... or words to that effect.

[Nearly Sane]

I don't know why he didn't just say 'look I don't believe in a god and think the monarchy sucks so I'm not singing "God save our Queen"... or words to that effect.

Agree

[Andy]

I don't sing it because I think the tune itself is dross shite. I don't go around singing Justin Bieber songs either for the same reason.

[Outrider]

I sing it because, regardless of the words, it's the anthem of my country - I disagree with the words, but I don't really feel anyone pays attention to them in the first place. I'm perfectly happy for him to not to sing them, though.

I do draw the line at England using it as a national anthem, it's the national anthem of Great Britain - the other component countries have their own anthems, I don't see why England thinks that it's special.

O.

[jeremyp]

I never sing the National Anthem as a sign of respect to the people around me.

[Maeght]

I don't know why he didn't just say 'look I don't believe in a god and think the monarchy sucks so I'm not singing "God save our Queen"... or words to that effect.

Agree

Me too.

[Udayana]

That might have interrupted the proceedings?   

[ProfessorDavey]

     OK, I might as well start a thread on this, 'cos no-one else has.
The MSM is in melt down over Corbyn's refusal to sing the National Anthem yesterday, despite aceeding to the Lord Chancellor's advice that standing respectfully was fine.
Was he right in not singing the song....a stance he has maintained for decades?

Typical of the reactionary press that they focus on this, rather than the actual policies Corbyn stands for.

I think he was ill advised. By failing to sing the national anthem he simply gave free reign for the reactionary press to have a go and also, and just as significant, to ensure all the headlines were about his lack of vocal involvement rather than his speech later in the day which doing the term 'poverty denial' which I thought was rather good.

Now I'm an atheist, republican so the first five words of the national anthem cut across two of my strongly held beliefs. But, and this is a major but - if you are in certain senior public positions there are certain norms you need to abide by and not being seen to 'snub' the monarch or be disrespectful to service personnel is part and parcel. If Corbyn achieves power he can change those conventions should he so wish but until then he really should be smarter than to throw more red meat to the right wing press in a couple of days than perhaps even Michael Foot achieved in months.

As a leader of the opposition and presumably therefore a potential PM he needs to appear statesmanlike and at the moment - whether through this or wonky tie and top button undone - he isn't. He appears to have learned nothing from Foot and the cenotaph.

[Shaker]

I think he was ill advised.

Perhaps he wasn't advised at all, and simply stuck to his principles?

By failing to sing the national anthem he simply gave free reign for the reactionary press to have a go and also, and just as significant, to ensure all the headlines were about his lack of vocal involvement rather than his speech later in the day which doing the term 'poverty denial' which I thought was rather good.

So you don't then think that if he had joined in, that self-same press today wouldn't have been whipping themselves into a froth of righteous indignation about "Hypocrite Corbyn sings God Save Queen"?

Is it really the case that we have a fourth estate in this country which devotes so much ink and so many column inches to JC's undone shirt button and silence during the national anthem in preference to the £4.4 billion Tory tax credit cuts yesterday? What does that say?

[Gordon]

It is an odious song with an odious sentiment about an odious institution - and nothing on earth would force me to sing it or stand 'respectfully' for it (the verse asking God to help Wade to 'rebellious Scots to crush' doesn't exactly encourage me greatly).

[Walt Zingmatilder]

I think he was ill advised.

Perhaps he wasn't advised at all, and simply stuck to his principles?

By failing to sing the national anthem he simply gave free reign for the reactionary press to have a go and also, and just as significant, to ensure all the headlines were about his lack of vocal involvement rather than his speech later in the day which doing the term 'poverty denial' which I thought was rather good.

So you don't then think that if he had joined in, that self-same press today wouldn't have been whipping themselves into a froth of righteous indignation about "Hypocrite Corbyn sings God Save Queen"?

The press have always taken the position that since Thatcher it is only they that can deliver Tory victories for instance the Telegraph was quite open that they would have to do a hatchet job on Miliband rather than depend on Cameron to win his own elections.

They would be destroying any labour leader on any pretext by now.
I suspect that is the reason Cameron is throwing the towel in because he knows a press so pumped with the ability to select the leader would try the stunt on a sitting Tory PM sooner or later.

[Anchorman]

It is an odious song with an odious sentiment about an odious institution - and nothing on earth would force me to sing it or stand 'respectfully' for it (the verse asking God to help Wade to 'rebellious Scots to crush' doesn't exactly encourage me greatly).

-
Yep!
The Ying Tong Song has more meaning.