SIR – With reference to Susan Baxter’s letter (T&A, August 10) in response to my original letter, I find it difficult to disagree with much of what she says. Mainly because Ms Baxter misses the point entirely.

Yes, Elizabeth Windsor may well have served her country during the war, but as she points out, so did thousands of others who have not had the same privileges and benefits as her. Maybe they should take it in turns to be Queen for a day to redress the balance.

And yes, the national anthem is played to honour our Olympians winning. So what? A new anthem would do exactly the same!

The point of my letter, missed by Ms Baxter, is that for a growing number of people, English as well as Scots and Welsh the current national anthem is meaningless and unrepresentative.

As a republican, I am just as patriotic as the next person, but my loyalty is to the people of this country, not a privileged elite. That apart, musically it is a dreadful dirge as well.

I repeat, we need a new, meaningful, inclusive anthem that the whole country can belt out with pride and joy. Not one that sounds like a funeral march and excludes whole swathes of the population.

I tend to agree with Billy Connolly; the theme from The Archers would be good!

Kevin Wilson, Cottingley Grove, Cottingley, Leeds