A CONSERVATIVE motion calling for all Oldham's schools to display a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was defeated at a full council meeting on Wednesday.

The motion, entitled 'For Queen and Country', also called for all schools to fly the national flag at all times, and to teach children to sing the national anthem.

But it was defeated by a majority of 35 to 10, with a handful of abstentions.

Proposing the motion, Conservative Cllr Dave Arnott suggested a lot more needs to be done to celebrate the United Kingdom, calling it 'a bastion of freedom'.

He said: "Saying you're proud to be British shouldn't be a source of shame. There's nothing wrong with patriotism.

"We don't celebrate our culture or history enough, nor show sufficient pride in our country," he later added.

Cllr Pam Byrne agreed, suggesting the platinum jubilee in 2022 is an opportunity for one such celebration.

But opposing the motion, Labour Cllr Shaid Mushtaq accused the Conservatives of putting politics before people.

He highlighted the work of schools and teachers during the pandemic, and said: "This motion dismisses everything they've done, everything they do and everything they'll continue to do.

"That the most important thing to the Oldham Conservative Group for our schools and the challenges they've faced is this motion highlights the complete lack of acknowledgement and understanding of what they've been through.

"This motion says to all those educating and caring for our children: 'What you've done for us isn't a big deal. It's your job, so shut up and get on with it'.

"My message is simple: Oldham children before politics, Oldham families before politics, Oldham schools before politics and education before politics."

Other councillors from Labour and from the Liberal Democrats also offered opposition to the motion, including Cllr Steven Bashforth and Cllr Sam Al-Hamdani.

Cllr Bashforth called it 'a personal affront', given a lot of things called for in the motion are done in Oldham already.

"We do all these things because we want to do them. We don't have them forced on us," he said.

Meanwhile, Cllr Al-Hamdani pointed to freedom of speech as a reason not to pass the motion.

"If we have freedom of speech, it surely includes people's right to find their own way to celebrate this country," he said.

The motion was then defeated in a vote, after a failed attempt to send the motion to an overview and scrutiny committee.