| Passing on Citizenship |
8 September 2003
|
Immigrants to be Tested before Getting UK Passport
The British government has sparked a small controversy by suggesting that immigrants take classes and a test in order to get a UK passport and to vote. Detractors suggest that in doing this the government is trying to define "Britishness" to the detriment of whatever special interest the detractor represents, while supporters say it will help immigrants function within British society. As the proposal stands, it will do neither.
Home Secretary, David Blunkett, had his former tutor Professor Sir Bernard Crick put the concept into words, and immediately discovered how hard defining "British" is. Apparently, a working knowledge of English is required, or Welsh or Scots Gaelic. Presumably people from Bangalore will be taught Gaelic to improve their ability to function in Highland society where their native English is not used.
Moreover, Her-Majesty's-subjects-in-training will have to have "knowledge of etiquette and sexual equality" -- something that many of Her present subjects lack. As well as an understanding of how Parliament works, the purpose of elections and function of the monarchy, they need to know how to get electricity, the good professor says. As anyone who enjoyed the London Underground power failure of August can attest, the Royals are less important that the national grid.
Failing the test, though, doesn't mean expulsion from Britain. It merely means that one cannot possess a UK passport or vote in UK elections. To Americans, Canadians and others whose countries were built on mass immigration, the entire idea of debating this is astonishing. Being a member of a political entity requires more than breathing, and so long as the standard is forced on no one, or denied to anyone deserving, it can only make "British" a word with greater precision and meaning than before.
Home