Wales: No Change to Union Flag
In an interview for BBC Wales Charles Ashburner, a Welshman and the Flag Institute’s Chief Executive. He way be Welsh but Mr Ashburner has said that any changes to the flag would seem highly “unlikely to be successful for the foreseeable future.” Meaning that there will be no inclusion of Welsh elements in the flag, whether that be the green or the Welsh dragon.
Mr Ashburner suggested that whilst such a change might have been hard to resist in the event of a vote for Scottish independence, the mood throughout the country was now not conducive to a revamp of the UK’s global symbol. Also mentioning the wider unrest this may cause among other countries adding additional challenges.
“During the Scottish referendum campaign there was discussion over what should happen to the union jack flag if Scotland decided to leave the United Kingdom. The flag includes the Scottish Saltire element of the blue background and white cross but it has no Welsh representation."
Currently the polls suggest that the majority of Welsh people aren't too concerned with their lack of representation in the flag.
- Include a dragon (or green) somewhere on the Union flag as a symbol of Wales: 45%
- The flag should not be changed at all: 36%
- Don’t care – it’s not my flag: 16%
- Other: 2%
- Don’t know: 1%
On reviewing the poll Mr Ashburner suggested that there would have to be a much clearer desire within Wales before such a change could be discussed more widely throughout the UK. Which Flagmakers agrees with, the pressure of changing the flag would seem to far outweigh the amount of Welsh people desiring a change.
Wales and the Royal Standard
He did, however, conclude that a more likely change might be for Her Majesty to consider changing her own Royal Standard, already split into four equal sections with two currently representing England. “The UK has four nations within it” he said, “It is not inconceivable that Her Majesty could now choose to include Wales in the Royal Standard.”
Some very interesting comments in the interview with Mr Ashburner, we had thought the people of Wales may be more passionate for change following the Scottish Referendum. We particularly liked the consideration of the royal standard which is something we had not thought of previously. This change by Her Majesty would seem logical to realign with the area she rules. For more on this story see The Flag Institute News. The change may never have happened but we enjoyed looking through the suggested changes for a new or Scotland "No" flag.
