Former UK Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith has released his plan for boosting "Britishness" and citizenship in the UK: Forcing schoolkids to swear allegiance to the queen. Becuse swearing to obey an unelected monarch who symbolises inherited privilege and religious bigotry is the perfect way of building a sense of shared and equal citizenship in a democratic and inclusive society.
On the other hand, should we really expect anything better from a man whose title marks him out as a living relic of the feudal age?
If the UK wants people to believe they are equal citizens, then here's a suggestion: make it true. Abolishing the monarchy and its accumulated historical detritus, the aristocracy and the House of Lords, would be a perfect first step towards doing so.
