Reform UK plans to mandate that all schools sing the national anthem and fly the Union flag if the party forms the next government, according to Suella Braverman, the party's education spokesperson. Braverman stated at the Reform conference in Birmingham that there is a "need to show our young people what patriotism looks like" and claimed that "too many" British schools have had their curriculum "hijacked by activists."
Braverman questioned current educational priorities, asking, "Why are they teaching our kids they can be born in the wrong body?" and "Why are they teaching our kids about how racist Britain is?" She also raised concerns about teaching "white privilege," asserting, "This is why we need to save our schools."
Under a Reform government, Braverman declared, "every school will sing the national anthem and our great hymns." Additionally, "every school will be obliged to fly the Union flag." She acknowledged these as "radical ideas, I know. Controversial."
Braverman, a former Conservative home secretary who joined Reform in January, also outlined plans to reduce funding for what she described as "Mickey Mouse" university courses. She pledged that within the first 100 days of a Reform government, taxpayer funding for student loans and tuition fees for such degrees would be cut by 20 percent. Courses with "dreadful, dreadful, appalling value for money, poor teaching and zero job prospects" would have their public funding reduced, she stated, adding, "You want to study gender studies? Pay for it yourself."
The funding saved would be redirected towards vocational courses. Braverman was among the final speakers at Reform's three-day conference, which concluded with party leader Nigel Farage, Braverman, and other senior figures singing the national anthem on stage.