Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo / Contributor / Getty Images
UK Members of Parliament are set to vote on whether England should receive its own national anthem for sporting events.
With ‘God Save the Queen’ having been used by the country in the majority of sporting events over the years, Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins has suggested that England should be given a new national anthem that defines it as its own country outside of the United Kingdom.
According to the BBC, Perkins said: “England is a component part of the UK but it competes as a country in its own right and I think a song that celebrated England rather than Britain would be more appropriate.” England currently uses ‘God Save the Queen’ as its anthem, which is also the anthem for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, though these countries also use their own individual anthems, too.
Image Credit: Richard Heathcote / Getty Images
There has been a call for England to receive its own national anthem before, with ‘Jerusalem’ the strong favourite given it previously being adopted as England’s unofficial anthem during the 2014 Delhi Commonwealth Games. The song features lyrics from poet William Blake and music by Hubert Parry.
Another contender is ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, with music by Edward Elgar and lyrics by A. C. Benson, with a 2006 survey conducted by the BBC revealing that 55% of the UK’s population would rather have it as the country’s national anthem as ‘God Save the Queen’.
Regardless of the results of this vote, ‘God Save the Queen’ will remain Britain’s national anthem, though it could see England receiving its first ever anthem as an individual country.
