A heated debate broke out on GB News between a former member of the European Parliament Belinda De Lucy and journalist Mike Buckley as they discussed musicianSheku Kanneh-Mason’s comments on the song ‘Rule Britannia!’.
It comes as the cellist for Harry and Meghan said that the song makes him feel “uncomfortable” and said that a lot of people “don’t understand.”
Belinda De Lucy was left fuming and said: “Oh petal. Little thing needs a safe room. The fragile perpetually offended ilk that my generation has probably created.
“The young just feel like they are a victim of everything. They see racism in everything ‘Rule Britannia!’ the very lyrics are about Alfred the Great, defending the Anglo Saxons and the Britons from Viking enslavement.
“I know the left hate to hear it but English and British people were enslaved and colonized too. We suffered too and the song is about that.
“Sheku has done himself a disservice he just sounds silly. Apparently, he left last year’s Night At The Proms because he didn’t want to hear the song.”
However, journalist Mike Buckley did not agree and responded: “I think it’s completely understandable that he’s offended by it.
“Because it ends every verse with the line Britain shall not be slaves. Obviously, for somebody from a black background, they’re gonna hear that and they’ll think this was written in 1740, I think we were busy enslaving lots of black people.”
Sheku Kanneh-Mason’ said that the song makes him feel “uncomfortable”
PA
“Obviously, it’s going to bring up lots of feelings around that we should be considerate.
“All of us are white. There’s no way that we could understand how people feel. I suspect within a few years we will have stopped singing it.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Kanneh-Mason said: “I think maybe some people don’t realise how uncomfortable a song like that can make a lot of people feel, even if it makes them [the people singing it] feel good.
“I think that’s somehow a big misunderstanding about it.”
Mike Buckley said it is “understandable” to be offended
GBNews
When asked what he would replace Rule, Britannia! with, Kanneh-Mason suggested British folk music.
“There is so much wonderful British music, the wealth of folk music from this country is astonishing. I think that would be [a] wonderful thing to take its place.”
He continued: “There is so much that is worth celebrating and having as part of a big celebration at the end of a wonderful music festival.”
The BBC sparked a backlash in 2020 when it announced it would play Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory without the lyrics at the Last Night of the Proms but it soon reversed the decision.
