Green councillors in Kent turned the tables on Reform UK's patriotic gesture by singing extra verses of the national anthem, forcing the council chair to cut them off. The incident occurred at the end of a five-hour Kent County Council meeting on July 16, where Reform had mandated the singing of God Save the King at the close of every session.
Anthem sing-off disrupts council meeting
Most councillors sang only the familiar first verse before sitting down. But Green councillor Mark Hood and his colleague Stuart Jeffery were prepared. They produced lyric sheets, distributed them to Labour and Lib Dem members, and launched into the second verse. Even after the pre-recorded backing music stopped, they continued reciting until council chair Jeremy Eustace demanded they stop.
Hood explained: 'We got to the start of the fourth verse, and the chairman of the council started banging his gavel. I remarked, “But I’ve got another three verses”. He told us both to sit down immediately and that I would be receiving a letter. I haven’t had a letter yet.'
Controversial sixth verse included
The Greens deliberately included the rarely sung sixth verse, which contains violent imagery against Scottish people. Hood noted: 'When we got to verse six there’s a reference to keeping down the Scots – obviously we would have had to apologise to Cllr Thomas Mallon, who’s one of our Scottish members.'
The full anthem has six verses, though typically only the first is sung, with the fifth sometimes added on formal occasions.
Reform's 'plastic patriotism' criticized
Council leader Linda Kemkaran dismissed the stunt as 'attention-seeking behaviour,' adding in a post on X: 'Embarrassing for them.' Hood, however, criticized Reform's new musical mandate as 'plastic patriotism,' saying: 'We thought if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly.'
The incident follows Reform UK's victory in May's local elections, after which they voted to end every council meeting with the anthem. The move was intended to project patriotism but has backfired, sparking debate over the anthem's appropriateness and the councillors' conduct.
Full lyrics of God Save the King
For context, here are the full lyrics, including the controversial sixth verse:
- Verse 1: 'God save our gracious King, Long live our noble King...'
- Verse 2: 'O Lord our God arise, Scatter our enemies...'
- Verse 3: 'Not in this land alone, But be God’s mercies known...'
- Verse 4: 'From every latent foe, From the assassins blow...'
- Verse 5: 'Thy choicest gifts in store, On him be pleased to pour...'
- Verse 6: 'Lord grant that Marshal Wade, May by thy mighty aid... Rebellious Scots to crush.'
