CONSERVATIVE MP Andrew Rosindell has doubled down on his demand for the BBC to play God Save the Queen every day, insisting it will help to foster “unity and pride in our nation“.
Rosindell, the MP for Romford, came in for extensive criticism on Thursday after asking ministers for support in his call to the broadcaster in the House of Commons.
After Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries was heard calling it a “fantastic question”, minister Chris Philp (below) agreed that everybody should be singing the national anthem more often.
But the SNP’s longest-serving MP Pete Wishart called the exchange “utterly staggering”.
“While the UK is facing a catastrophic Tory cost of living crisis, which the UK Government is doing the sum total of nothing to tackle, Tory MPs are wasting time attempting to force the BBC to play the national anthem on repeat,” he commented.
The BBC used to play God Save the Queen every night when TV closed – but this was abandoned when 24-hour television was introduced.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Rosindell repeated his calls and said the 24-hour reasoning is just an “excuse”.
In the interview with Kate Garraway, the MP said: “We should be proud of our country and uphold traditions, our heritage.
“There is no better way of doing that than to sing together the national anthem of our country, which represents literally everybody,” he argued – despite the fact Wales and Scotland have their own national anthems which play an important role in sport in particular.
“It doesn’t matter what background you are or what differences there may be, the one thing that unites us all is being British,” Rosindell went on.
“There is no better way to restore this on BBC One, and other broadcasters as well than the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
“I think unfortunately so few people ever hear the national anthem, let alone know the words, it’s never sung in schools, it’s never played by public broadcasters at the end of the day.
“Even ITV by the way used to do it. It is time to restore it.
“What’s wrong with a few seconds at the end of the day before the switch over to other channels to have the national anthem of our country? I think it’s time to bring it back.”
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Garraway argued that time has changed, with broadcasting no longer having an official ending. “That’s not a natural moment that can be reinstated,” she told the MP.
But a frustrated Rosindell hit back: “That’s completely wrong.
“So BBC One stop broadcasting, they switch to another channel.”
The presenter went to make her point again, but Rosindell cut in: “If you could let me finish.
“It’s about the playing it at a certain point in the day. Most people watch television to late in the evening and then it switches over to News 24 or something else.
“That’s the point it could be played. The idea it can’t be done because there isn’t a formal close down is simply an excuse by the BBC.
“It is a pure excuse and that’s not a reason not to play the national anthem.”
He then claimed the reason for the lack of God Save the Queen on TV is “because there’s too much PC stuff going on”.
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