As of 1 November, all people claiming British citizenship will now have to take a "Britishness Test". This is very much like the citizenship test needed to gain American citizenship.

The BBC has a list of hypothetical questions, and I'm glad I've got my maroon book already - I didn't know the answers to half of these. I do now though so I can bask in ignorance with the locals too ;-)

Now, on the one hand this is a good idea and will help people know more about Britain, however I don't think it's going to help them integrate better. I don't think knowing when the Queen's birthday is would have helped me integrate any better - it's one of those topics that just doesn't come up in everyday conversation.

This whole idea is just another way for the government to make more money of jolly foreigners... they have setup a dedicated website to provide details on the whole test and process and what questions you're likely to get. However, in order to get the answers and have any hope of passing (without actually going to school or living in the UK for 10 years) is to BUY the handbook. Yup, BUY the handbook.

Hmm, me thinks this will be bought once and then photocopied a million times - just like the old UK paper driver's license.