Flagging up the fragility of our Union

IT HAS become quite fashionable to wave a piece of cloth with different designs on it to indicate commitment to a country or a cause, or sit in front of one when being interviewed. Of course, if you live in Switzerland your flag will be a big plus, or in Japan it will be spot on.

When Robert Jenrick, a couple of months ago, retorted in response to TV presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt – the Union Jack is “a symbol of liberty and freedom that binds the whole country together”, he must have forgotten that there is nothing on it which is remotely Welsh and that the Principality of Wales lost its freedom to England thanks to Edward I.

What some people have described as a butcher’s apron is the result of combining the red cross of St George for England, the white saltire of St Andrew for Scotland and the red saltire of St Patrick to represent Ireland. Wales is the only home nation which has no national symbol on the Union Jack.

So since plans were recently revealed to place a huge 105ft Union flag on a new UK Government office building in Cardiff, there has been, understandably, huge protest. What is a foolish and insensitive idea also feeds into what Mark Drakeford has called the “fragility” of the Union as a result of the aggressive and unilateralist way in which the UK Government has often acted.

What must be the quote of the year from Drakeford – the “vacuous symbolism of tea-towel waving Tories” – referring to the ostentatious displaying of Union flags, has a more serious reference.

A strong and meaningful Union comes not from jingoism but respect for Welsh identity, parity and more devolved powers among the constituent nations.

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