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Mark Easton | 09:02 UK time, Friday, 11 July 2008

Last night of the PromsWhen I admitted my dislike for our national anthem a couple of weeks ago, I asked whether people had suggestions for a new one - or would like to stick with God Save The Queen.

Detailed analysis of the responses (totting on the back of an envelope) has revealed a country deeply divided. A fair proportion of you share my antipathy towards our current UK anthem. Many posts went further, calling for an English anthem and suggesting we abandon any symbolic musical statement of a United Kingdom.

However, that was not in the rules and I explicitly wanted ideas for a tune to represent all the nations and regions of Britain. So here is my interpretation of the results, in reverse order:

4 - Rule Britannia / I Vow To Thee My Country
3 - Jerusalem
2 - Land of Hope and Glory
1 - God Save the Queen

Yes, Britain's conservative nature shines through with the largest number of votes for sticking to what we know. However, more people voted for change than the status quo.

Sex Pistols' Johnny Lydon at the Isle of Wight FestivalAmong the more imaginative suggestions were songs by Whitesnake, Chumbawumba, The The, U2 and The Smiths. Four people voted for the Archers theme (rum-te-tum-ti-tum-ti-tum) and one suggested God Save The Queen as sung by the Sex Pistols (for sporting occasions).

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