Union flag will continue to fly outside Welsh Government buildings, says First Minister

Eleanor Storey, Press Association

The Union flag will continue to fly outside Welsh Government buildings despite the First Minister’s ambitions for independence.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said there are “no plans to change” the flags being flown outside Government offices.

This includes the Welsh Government HQ at Cathays Park, Cardiff, where the Union flag and Welsh flag are currently both displayed.

Mr ap Iorwerth has previously said he would use time in government to make the case for an independent Wales and raised these ambitions in his first call with Sir Keir Starmer after being appointed First Minister.

He became the first from his party to hold the position after a historic election in May made Plaid Cymru the largest party in the Welsh Parliament, ousting Welsh Labour from government.

In a written question to the First Minister, Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, asked Mr ap Iorwerth to confirm whether he would fly the flag of the United Kingdom on Government buildings.

The flying of flags on Welsh Government buildings is a matter for the First Minister, informed by advice from Welsh Government officials. It is not subject to a vote in the Senedd.

Mr ap Iorwerth responded: “There are no plans to change flags protocol.”

The First Minister has previously said he does not plan to pursue an independence referendum in the first term of a Plaid Cymru government, and says he hopes to have a “constructive relationship” with the UK Government.

However, Plaid Cymru’s manifesto, published prior to the election, set out steps the party plans to take on the “journey to (Welsh) independence”.

It reads: “We fundamentally believe that the decision on Wales’s political and constitutional future belongs to the people of Wales.

“We will therefore formally request that the right to decide on the timeline, question and process for an independence referendum be devolved.”

The party also committed to “laying the foundations for a future White Paper on Welsh independence”.