Get in line!! Immigrants to be taught how to queue!

Immigrants to be taught the fine British art of how to queue

By Kirsty Walker

Last updated at 5:32 PM on 14th February 2010

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Immigrants are to be educated in one of Britain's most important etiquettes - how to queue properly.

Foreigners applying to settle in the UK will have to learn about the revered British practice of forming an orderly line for everything from buses to sandwiches.

Ministers even want the art of queuing to be included in citizenship tests, which immigrants must pass before settling in the country.

They believe that queue-jumping is damaging social cohesion as the majority of Brits find such behaviour unacceptable.

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Immigration minister Phil Woolas has claimed that a lot of tension in communities is caused by foreigners not understanding that they must wait in line for services rather than barging to the front.

Many foreigner cultures believe the only way to get access to necessities, is to jostle their way to the front, rather than form an orderly line.

But surveys have found that 91 per cent of British people strongly object to queue jumping.

Mr Woolas confirmed that he was pushing the idea as part of moves to ensure immigrants integrate properly.

He said: 'The simple act of taking one's turn is one of the things that holds our country together. It is very important that newcomers take their place in queues whether it is for a bus or a cup of tea.

'It is central to the British sense of fair play and it is also better for everyone. Huge resentment is caused when people push in.

'Most immigrants in my experience want to play fair.'

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Jo Bryant, editor of Debrett's, the publisher and leading authority on proper behaviour, said that patience was they key to well-mannered queuing.

She said: 'Be patient. Remember that everyone's in the same boat, so avoid displays of exasperation or aggression.

'Be aware of other people's personal space and don't stand too close to the person in front of you. Even in the most disorganised of queues, there will still be an unspoken order.'

A recent survey found that after pushing in, the most objectionable behaviour in queues is pressurising the people in front followed by children behaving badly.

Two thirds of people say they get annoyed when people are not ready to pay when it is their turn or leave the checkout to get more shopping.

Other irritating behaviour in queues includes having too many items in a '10 items or less aisle', chatting to check-out staff and talking on mobile phones.

Since 2005, foreign nationals applying for UK citizenship – which confers the right to a British passport – have been required to sit a written test at one of 90 centres across the country before taking part in a formal citizenship ceremony.

The 45-minute tests include questions on various aspects of the British way of life from politics to pop music.

The answers are all to be found in a 150-page book, Life in the UK, which applicants must study before sitting the exam. Topics covered veer from complicated matters of government procedure and welfare entitlement to the apparently banal.

The Home Office's own Life in the UK handbook says: 'Public houses or pubs, as they are known, are an important part of local life in many parts of Britain.

'Groups of friends normally buy 'rounds' of drinks, where the person whose turn it is will buy drinks for all the members of the group. If you spill a stranger's drink by accident, it is good manners (and prudent) to offer to buy another.'