The Liberal Democrats have rewritten the famous football anthem Three Lions as a song about rejoining the European Union at their annual party conference in Bournemouth. The pro-Brussels ditty is one of several parodies that will be sung at a karaoke night marking the close of the gathering.
Gold Stars on the Flag
The 32nd edition of the Liberator Song Book, priced at £5, includes Gold Stars (On My Flag) written to the tune of Three Lions. The song refers to a “referendum full of hate” and expresses hope that the UK will rejoin the EU by singing: “We’ll go back in, we’ll go back, we will go back in.”
The song also praises the “glory years of peace” and the “four freedoms” of the EU, while lamenting the loss of the 2016 Brexit vote. The chorus features the lyrics: “Gold stars on the flag, four freedoms still gleaming, glory years of peace, kept us all campaigning.”
The original Three Lions was recorded by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner with rock band The Lightning Seeds in 1996. It became a popular anthem for England’s national football team and was re-released several times for major tournaments.
Sir Ed Davey’s stance on rejoining the EU
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has insisted that a return to membership of the EU is currently “off the table”, but has declined to comment on whether it is a long-term aim of his party. He has said that his priority is to stop a “hard Brexit” and protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK.
However, some of his party members and activists have been more vocal about their desire to rejoin the EU. In July, former leader Tim Farron said that he would campaign for rejoining the EU if he was still in charge. He also said that he believed that most Liberal Democrat voters and members wanted to rejoin.
The party’s policy on Europe has been a source of controversy and debate in recent years. In 2019, the party vowed to cancel Brexit without a second referendum if it won a majority in the general election. However, this strategy backfired as the party lost one seat and its then leader Jo Swinson lost her own seat.
Other political parodies at the Glee Club event
The Liberator Song Book also contains other political parodies of popular songs that will be performed at the Glee Club event on Monday night. The event is a tradition at the Liberal Democrat conferences and is known for its irreverent and humorous tone.
Some of the songs mock former prime ministers such as David Cameron, Theresa May and Liz Truss. The Prosciutto Affair makes light of lurid allegations about Cameron’s supposed involvement in an initiation ceremony at Oxford University, which he has always denied. Guide Me, O Thou Great Theresa labels May as “weak and wobbly” and criticises her handling of Brexit.
Lettuce Liz pokes fun at Truss’s short-lived premiership that collapsed last October after a drug bust involving catering staff at her official residence. A live stream created by a tabloid newspaper asked the question “Which wet lettuce will last longer?”, with a vegetable plant ultimately outlasting Truss’s government.
The song book also ridicules some of the current Liberal Democrat MPs such as Tim Farron, Layla Moran and Daisy Cooper. Farron, a devout Christian, is criticised in a rewrite of It’s A Sin by the Pet Shop Boys, following a row in which he initially refused to say whether he believed being gay was sinful. Moran, who admitted to slapping her ex-boyfriend in 2013, is mocked in a rewrite of Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. Cooper, who was accused of breaking Covid rules by attending a barbecue last year, is lampooned in a rewrite of Barbie Girl by Aqua.
