Ministry of Defence spending on flags more than doubles to £231,000 in attempt to save the Union
Ministry of Defence spending on flags has more than doubled to £231,096.92, in what the UK Government says is an effort to shore up the Union.
£54,564.50 was spent on Union Jacks alone, a jump of 115 per cent on the same figures in 2018/19, according to a Freedom of Information request.
The overall cost related only to flags bought centrally by the MoD and did not include military units buying their own flags.
A UK government source told the Telegraph newspaper that the spending was part of an attempt to make the flag more visible.
“The Government is proud to fly the Union flag as a reminder of our history and the ties that bind us,” they said.
“A large number of flags are used for ceremonial and non-ceremonial events, including national commemorations and state visits, and will regularly be replaced when damaged beyond repair.”
The cost of making the Union Jack more visible ran into controversy in Wales after the Welsh Secretary had to scrap plans for a massive flag decal on the side of a Cardiff building after costs ballooned.
Cardiff council officers had approved planning permission for a 105-foot high flag on Tŷ William Morgan tax office, but it was jettisoned after it turned out the final cost would be as much as £180,000 to the taxpayer.
The UK government said the secretary of state halted plans because it “did not represent good value for the taxpayer”.
The First Minister, Mark Drakeford had expressed concern that the giant flag would only push more people towards independence.
Mark Drakeford said that his objection “is not to a union flag per se; it is whether a 32 m tall, 8 m wide union flag is a proportionate way of proceeding”.
“If the purpose of their actions is to strengthen the union, then they need to ask themselves whether or not a union jack on the scale and size that they are proposing is likely to achieve that ambition,” he said.
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
The Union Jack 🇬🇧 has of course a long history- mixed certainly but still with some memorable positives for those individual nations within its design.
As a nation not associated with or involved with its design I guess it’s not up to us to pass too much comment on the regalia of others ?
The Butcher’s Apron is the flag of Great Britain and Ireland and ceased to have real meaning in 1922. That is why the present Tory obsession with it is funnier than fish.
If the UK government really wants to ‘shore up’ the UK rather than spend £54k on flags wouldn’y it be better spent addressing the chronic child poverty in Wales!?
As the act of annexation did not see fit to consider placing the most epic standard on the planet, in it’s place on the flag of the U.K…. Who cares. We have our banner and it is ours . They have theirs and it is not ours.
👍🏼🏴
👍🏼🇬🇧
Oh. And by the way,when Scotland becomes an independent nation, will they consider placing a little draig goch somewhere on the flag to fill in the gaps. And the three feathers on our rugby shirts…. really? I serve in German….. Let’s get rid of this asap.
You can buy a five by three Red Dragon Flag for about five quid in shops all over the place.Much better value. Much less oppressive.
Union flag? Hardly as it doesn’t include Wales. It represents colonialism, superiority over others and division. I sincerely hope that the Welsh flag represents fairness, inclusion & a huge croeso to everyone that chooses to live here.
inclusion? With Wales being the whitest country in the Union and England being the most diverse in Europe?
Each one they raise on Welsh soil will have exactly the opposite effect.
“If the purpose of their actions is to strengthen the union, then they need to ask themselves whether or not a union jack on the scale and size that they are proposing is likely to achieve that ambition,”
A pertinent question to which the answer must surely be a resounding No!
It appears counter productive, but I guess in the absence of a successful policy on the Union our Unionist friends are sticking to the one policy they have and are trying harder with that one. Pob hwyl i chi ar hwnna …
How many of these flags are actually made in the UK? If the spend has increased then lets hope its increased the amount of money in our economy in support of jobs rather than paid to a retailer to import from offshore!
No English flags in wales 🏴 it’s time for a new wales 🏴
Why do they think ramming it down our throat is going to make us suddenly become lovers of the Union.