Swearing allegiance will not make people fell like citizens

10.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 12th Mar 2008

A report commissioned by Gordon Brown on British citizenship has suggested that school-leavers should be encouraged to swear an oath of allegiance to Queen and country. Report author, ex-attorney general Lord Goldsmith, says it would give teenagers a sense of belonging. Council tax and student fee rebates are suggested for people who volunteer - as well as a "Britishness" public holiday.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said "If we really want to create a sense of belonging for teenagers then there are far better ways to do it than simply asking people to swear allegiance to Queen and country. People should not feel that being British is about swearing allegiance, it should be about taking an active role in society. Until people feel they have a genuine say in the system then they will never feel like they are true citizens. We need to fix our broken political system that leaves people feeling alienated rather than empowered, as well as taking power away from Westminster and putting it back into the hands of people."