- cross-posted to:
- nottheonion@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- nottheonion@lemmy.world
Migration minister Mike Tapp failed a UK citizenship test question before insisting he is a “proud Brit.” Speaking at a parliamentary committee on settlement, citizenship, and integration on Tuesday, 10 March, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal admitted he did not know the height of the London Eye - one of the questions in the official UK citizenship test. “I am confident that I would be able to pass the test, I’m a proud Brit,” he added, but promised to “take a keen interest” in knowing the answer “when it comes up again” in the same meeting next year. Chair of the committee, Lord Don Foster, said he will “follow up” on Mr Tapp’s word.



Yeah. I kind of get it though, and some historical facts do have a material impact on your understanding of that cultural backdrop, while also being much easier to test for. (And I think it is reasonable to have some kind of check on integration, even if imperfect, for naturalisation)
In this example, if you know that the Acts of Union were 1542 for Wales, 1707 (huzzah) for Scotland and 1800 for Ireland, that tells you something about the relative strengths of the bonds between the different countries in the union. It gives you historical context for why Scottish Independence is a stronger movement than Welsh Independence, and helps you navigate interactions with people from the different countries.
So a test that asks questions of that character can be objective, concise, and still encourages prospective citizens to learn things which are useful from the point of view of integration. In these topics people often bring up queuing culture (but I’ve never invited someone to go in front of me at a checkout that I remember), tea culture (but loads of people don’t drink tea, disagree on milk/tea order, etc), sports (I don’t follow any) that all have significant problems.