Welcome to anthem4england - a website for all those English people that are heartily fed up of God Save the Queen being used as the English national anthem. For some English people English identity is coterminous with British identity. These people puzzle us; what are they thinking when the Scots and Welsh sing their anthems with gusto and then boo God Save the Queen; have they not noticed that since devolution the Scots and Welsh now govern themselves (and us), and; do they realise that English nationalism and self-awareness is resurgent, the St George's Cross having displaced the Union Flag in the affections of most English people?

We at anthem4england have noticed, and being observant types we've also noticed a lot more besides. We would like to share our views with you and receive your feedback in return, promoting discussion that will eventually lead to the English adopting an anthem for England. With that in mind this website has been designed with a level of interactivity that you, joe and josephine public, are encouraged to make use of.

What should England's national anthem be?
	Jerusalem
	Land of Hope and Glory
	God Save the Queen
	I Vow to Thee My Country
	A newly commissioned anthem

There's absolutely nothing wrong with God save the Queen apart from the fact that it is the British anthem; the musical equivalent of the Union Flag..............Oh and, as a song, it blows.

This is not a republican website - though some contributors to the blog may hold those views - it is a website arguing that the English should sing an English, not British, anthem. God Save the Queen can continue to be the British anthem, to be sung as a celebration of Britishness or the monarch, by the individual nations of Britain, or by the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish when they are gathered together as Brits.

However, the British anthem should not be sung by the English as an English anthem. It may be politically convenient for the UK Government to encourage Scottishness and Welshness whilst keeping Britishness to the fore in England but it serves neither Britain nor the monarchy to do so. Not only that but it is disrespectful to England, Scotland and Wales to conflate England with Britain in this way; for England is a nation every bit as much as Scotland and Wales, and those Scots and Welsh that still consider themselves British are now obliged to boo their own anthem for fear of being regarded as traitors by an increasingly nationalistic tendency.

Those people that will accuse us of trying to diminish the monarchy, or of trying to hasten the decline of Britain, should consider how perverse it is for the Scottish and English teams to line up together with the Scots singing a Scottish anthem and the English singing a British anthem. Doesn't God Save the Queen apply equally to the English and Scottish; are we all not British?

It is worth noting that the fourth nation of the UK, Northern Ireland, also sings God Save the Queen as their national anthem. For political and sectarian reasons their case is more complicated than that of England's, but no less compelling for being so.

Of course England needs its own anthem; those English people pictured in Trafalgar Square aren't celebrating Britain, or the Queen, they are celebrating England. The English flag has replaced the British flag as the banner of the English and we now need to replace the British anthem with an English anthem.

Every other nation has a national anthem, so why not the English?

The mournful strains of God Save the Queen may be suited to a song celebrating the monarchy but it does not stir the blood, just look at the way English sportsmen shuffle uncomfortably from foot to foot, eyes down, looking for all the world like they wished the ground would open up and swallow them when God Save the Queen is playing.

England needs an anthem that represents England, why should the British National Anthem continue to be played and sung at occasions which are strictly English affairs? And why should they Scots and Welsh be permitted to say ‘it is the English anthem’ as an excuse for booing God Save the Queen?

No longer should the English be expect to sing a song that amounts to little more than forelock- tugging set to music. It’s cringe-making and toe-curlingly embarrassing.

The use of God Save the Queen as both the English and British national anthem does nothing for Anglo-Scottish/Welsh relations, as demonstrated by this letter to the Western Mail; 14th Sep, 2005:

SIR - Regarding the booing of God Save The Queen at the Millennium Stadium, the tradition of booing goes back to the days (not so long ago) when the English national anthem was routinely played after Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau - regardless of who we were playing.

It was meant as a reminder to us in Wales of our subject status. That is why it is routinely booed. Or it may be a critical reaction to the quality of the singing and the music. the lyrics are fairly demeaning, too. the second verse reads: O Lord our God, arise, Scatter our enemies, And make them fall; Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks; On thee our hopes we fix: God save us all. Unpleasant stuff. Isn't it time the English got a better anthem?

Indeed, it is time for the English to sing in celebration of England.

Anthem 4 England is a collaborative effort by a motley collection of English bloggers that wanted to create a one-stop-shop for all information concerning England's national anthem. We are of differing political persuasions but nevertheless united in the belief that there should be an anthem4england. We hope that each blogger will be able to bring you a different perspective on the situation on the Anthem 4 England News Blog. In addition we welcome contributions from the public, so if you would like to be an advocate for a particular anthem then please get in contact. Bloggers from the British Isles - English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish - are also invited to get in touch to give us your perspective on the blog.