Ministers call for national British Day

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne want a bank holiday in the UK similar to Australia Day.

They also suggest that "good neighbour contracts" for newcomers to areas could be introduced.

In a pamphlet today for the Fabian Society, they warn that Britain's traditional welcome to immigrants "has never been unconditional".

They add: "Our diversity has always been underwritten by a subscription to a common set of values including our traditions of fairness and open-mindedness; commitment to Britain and its people; loyalty to our legal and political institutions and a sense in which living in Britain means being part of a local community.

"What we hold in common has tended to be implicit in Britain... But today, more than at any time since the Second World War, we need a more vigorous debate about what it is that holds us together."

They are proposing that immigrants should only be granted British citizenship if they show they are prepared to integrate and to behave well.

A system of "earned citizenship" would lay out a simple points-based scheme on how newcomers could gain the right to settle here and gain a British passport.

The "good neighbour contracts" could be brought in with ID cards and the national day would celebrate civic values and local heritage. Citizenship ceremonies could also be held on this date.

It could be held on the state opening of parliament, with a State of the Nation address by the prime minister, and could promote links between generations by remembering the debt of gratitude to war veterans.

Ms Kelly told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is trying to recognise we have more in common than divides us."

The ministers add that all teenagers in the UK should be given a citizenship pack when they become eligible to vote. The packs would give information on democracy, civic duties and volunteering.