Brown mulls UK oath of allegiance plan

LONDON, England (AP) -- Plans to have schoolchildren pledge allegiance to Britain in a citizenship ceremony were savaged Tuesday by independence-minded politicians in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The sweeping citizenship proposals made by former attorney general Lord Goldsmith in a 138-page report to Prime Minister Gordon Brown emphasizes the need for strengthening Britain's cultural identity in a time of rapid change.

Goldsmith calls for a pledge of allegiance, the establishment of a new national holiday to celebrate Britishness, and expanded ceremonies that would take place when new immigrants become British citizens. He also said schoolchildren should have a citizenship ceremony as well.

"We are experiencing changes in our society which may have an impact on the bond that we feel we share as citizens," Goldsmith said in the report. "I propose a range of measures that may help to promote a shared sense of belonging."

He said the pledge of allegiance would not necessarily involve swearing loyalty to the queen, but left open that possibility, which would surely trouble Britain's extensive community of republicans seeking to dismantle the monarchy.

A spokesman for Brown said the prime minister welcomed Goldsmith's report, but the response was less friendly in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which have each gained a measure of autonomy during the "devolution" process that began under former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"These suggestions are not something the Scottish government would support," said an official spokesman for Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond. "Nor would they find favor among parents and schools in Scotland. We don't think it's appropriate to pledge allegiance to the United Kingdom. And under devolution, responsibility for the schools in Scotland lies with the Scottish Parliament."

He said it would be wrong for the "coming of age" ceremony proposed by Goldsmith to require students to make a political statement by making a commitment to the United Kingdom.

Paul Flynn, a Labour Party MP from Wales, said there is virtually no support in Wales for the ideas put forth by Goldsmith.

"It's a nonstarter, it will rank as one of the more foolish government proposals," he said. "I've seen newspaper polls showing the support is zero. And it will upset the 2.5 million republicans in this country."

The idea of pledging allegiance to Britain is a weak attempt to copy the American practice, he said, and does not reflect the reality of the United Kingdom.

"I've never described myself as being British, I describe myself as Welsh," he said. "I live in the UK but I'm not happy that it's united and I'm less happy that it's a kingdom."

In Northern Ireland, where the Good Friday agreement has created a coalition government between those who want to remain in the U.K. and those who want to break away, Sinn Fein officials rejected the plan, saying no one in the party would consider pledging allegiance to the U.K.

Paul Bew, a professor of Irish politics at Queens University in Belfast, said there would have to be an exclusion for Northern Ireland if Goldsmith's plan is to move forward.

"This would not go down well," he said. "We have the Good Friday agreement which is supposed to create equality between these national aspirations, and now you want to go back to this, pledging allegiance to the UK. It's very difficult," Bew said. E-mail to a friend

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