Volunteering 'enhances citizenship'

Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:00 AM

New immigrants must do more to integrate into British society, the chancellor Gordon Brown argued today.

Mr Brown recommended that immigrants carry out community work before receiving full citizenship, claiming that this will help both them and the host nation.

The chancellor, widely expected to take over as prime minister when Tony Blair steps down, told a seminar on Britishness at the Commonwealth club in London, that language texts and citizenship ceremonies do not go far enough.

Mr Brown said: "Today we have a citizenship test, 24 questions on life in the UK that last for 45 minutes.

"But I believe when there is now so much mobility between nations and countries, when we feel strongly that being a British citizen is something to be proud of, then we should emphasise that citizenship is more than a test, more than a ceremony.

"It is a kind of contract between the citizen and the country, involving rights and responsibilities that will protect and enhance the British way of life. Citizenship means there are common rules and accepted standards."

People are now agreed that new immigrants should learn English, Mr Brown claimed, but people should also have an appreciation of Britain's unique history and culture as "a stronger sense of being British helps unite and define us".

"But, in any national debate on the future of citizenship, it is also right to consider asking men and women seeking citizenship to undertake some community work in our communities - introducing them to a wider range of institutions and people in our country prior to enjoying the benefits of citizenship," he argued.

The Liberal Democrats have attacked the idea of community work as an "unenforceable gimmick".

"We need proper provision for teaching English, not more headline chasing," said leader Sir Menzies Campbell.

Although Mr Brown told the seminar that he was proud to be British, the Conservatives dismissed his "Britishness boasts" as "hollow".

In October, Mr Brown announced that funding for English classes would be cut, the Tories state, and Ofsted has criticised the standard of citizenship teaching in schools.

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• immigration