The Price of Nationality (1975)

From the July 1975 issue of the Socialist Standard

It is worth noting that anyone can acquire British nationality in the usual way we buy other “commodities”, in this case by paying down a mere £40.

The Home Secretary has decided to raise the fee for the naturalisation of a foreign national as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies from £30 to £40.

(Home Office Press Notice 18th Feb. 75)

For the foreign wives of UK citizens the price is still a paltry £10.

Considering that men are sometimes expected to get themselves killed to protect our sacred Britishness, you’d think they’d put a rather higher price on this rare treasure — Nationality. At present the equation works out at L = N = £40, where L — lives (any number) and N = nationality. So much for defending the Red, White and Blue !

Charmian Skelton