People in the festive spirit may need to be careful over which Christmas songs they sing in public. Photo / Getty Images
Sitting in a pub with a glass of mulled wine, while loudly singing along to a Christmas song, is a much-loved tradition of the festive season.
But its days may be numbered as pub landlords must ban “offensive” lyrics under new laws requiring them to take “all reasonable steps” to protect staff from third-party harassment.
The songs affected could include Baby It’s Cold Outside, which has faced criticism from the #MeToo movement, Do They Know It’s Christmas? which has been accused of stereotyping the continent of Africa, and Jingle Bells, which is said to have “racist” origins.
Under the British Government’s controversial Employment Rights Bill, which became law last week, employers will have a legal duty to prevent harassment by third parties relating to a “protected characteristic” such as race, religion, sexual orientation or age.
Ministers have been warned that this will result in pub landlords, as well as restaurant owners and hoteliers, being turned into the “banter cops”, where they are forced to police what their customers say.
Free-speech campaigners fear it could also lead to pubs banning Christmas music sing-alongs over worries their lyrics may cause offence.
Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said he had previously warned that the “banter ban” would lead to the “policing of harmless fun in pubs, bars and restaurants, giving the scolds and finger-waggers another pretext to stop people enjoying themselves”.
He added: “The Government didn’t listen, insisting we were being alarmist, but a ban on Christmas music and carol singing will be the least of it. Prepare to live in a country in which every hospitality venue is a micro-managed ‘safe space’, overseen by lanyard-wearing banter bouncers.
“Welcome to [Prime Minister Keir] Starmer’s Britain.”
A number of Christmas songs have provoked a controversial response in recent years because of lyrics seen as offensive.
In 2019, American singer John Legend rewrote the classic Christmas song Baby, It’s Cold Outside to focus its lyrics on consent after the #MeToo movement.
The song, originally written in 1944, is about a man trying to convince a woman to spend the night with him while she hesitantly suggests she should leave.
The lyrics have long provoked controversy but face renewed criticism after the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, with several radio stations banning it from playlists last year.
Meanwhile, the charity song Do They Know It’s Christmas? has come under fresh scrutiny over claims that it perpetuates “damaging stereotypes” of Africa.
Last Christmas the singer Ed Sheeran shared a statement made by the musician Fuse ODG, a long-time Band Aid critic, who argues such initiatives “perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism and investment, ultimately … destroying its dignity, pride and identity”.
Jingle Bells has been accused of having racist origins after an academic found the song was first performed in blackface in a minstrel show in Boston in September 1857.
Kyna Hamill, of Boston University, published a paper explaining that during the past 160 years the song had become an example of music whose “blackface and racist origins have been subtly and systematically removed from its history”.
Baby It’s Cold Outside
Say what’s in this drink
(No cabs to be had out there)
The answer is no
(But baby it’s cold outside)
Do They Know It’s Christmas?
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well, tonight, thank God it’s them
Instead of you, na, na, yeah
And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas now
The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows, no rain or river flow
Fairytale of New York
You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap, lousy f****t
The Employment Rights Bill will also ban zero-hour contracts, bring in day-one rights to statutory sick pay, and give unions unprecedented rights to enter workplaces.
Businesses had argued fiercely against the laws, saying they would burden them with red tape. Even the Government has admitted the Bill will cost firms £5 billion ($11.6b).
The Conservatives have vowed to reverse the changes if they win the next election.
Kevin Hollinrake MP, chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Christmas is a time for joy and fun. But, not satisfied with hammering the hospitality sector through two disastrous budgets, Labour are now trying to ban the Christmas classics.
“Keir Starmer and his Government do not have the backbone to stand up to Angela Rayner and her disastrous Unemployment Rights Bill and so now pubs are set to be forced to censor our favourite Christmas tunes. Do Labour know it’s Christmas time at all?”
A government spokesman said: “This is complete rubbish. The Employment Rights Act will not affect anyone’s right to lawful free speech, and people will still be able to enjoy their favourite Christmas carols.”
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