Saturday, August 07, 2021
The cost of flag-waving
Most of us emitted a deep sigh and moved on when UK Ministers started to wrap themselves in the union jack, though to be fair I did retaliate slightly by adopting Welsh and European flags as a backdrop for all my video conferencing meetings. My little act of rebellion has cost the public nothing, whereas Boris Johnson's flag-obsession is proving very expensive indeed.
The Guardian reports that spending on union flags has increased in virtually every government department since Johnson entered Downing Street, with more than £163,000 spent this year and last. It accounts for 85% of union flag purchases over the past four years:
The lion’s share has come from two departments: the Ministry of Defence (MoD) – whose spending has increased each year since 2018 and comes to £118,000 since the start of 2018 – and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). More than 83% (£54,420.89) of the spending by the DCMS was last year, which it says was due to the need to replace many flags due to wear and tear.
Other government departments have also been stocking up. At the Cabinet Office, which recently axed £2.6m plans for White House-style TV briefings featuring flags, more than £3,000 has been spent on union jacks since the start of 2018, including the purchase of eight in the most recent financial year at a cost of £1,999.47.
The Treasury has spent nearly £1,000 on union flags since 2018, including three this year at a cost of £607.06. Spending this year perhaps compensates for the purchase of a solitary £3.25 table-top union jack last year.
The purchases – detailed after a freedom of information request – come against the backdrop of another apparent escalation of the flag-based culture war when the culture minister, Oliver Dowden, announced that the national flag should be flown from all UK government buildings every day, and urged councils to do likewise.
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, was taken to task in a parliamentary committee hearing by a Tory MP for failing to include images of the flag in the corporation’s annual report, while another Conservative wore a union flag tie and face mask in the House of Commons chamber to rail against what he described as a “ban” on the display of the flag in the Welsh parliament.
....
Elsewhere in government, the Department for Transport has spent £1,100 since 2018 on union flags (including £700 last year) and Jenrick’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it spent £90.05 on the flags this year, with no record of purchases in other recent years.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy stocked up on £392 worth of flags this year and last – zero in the years previously – while the Department for Work and Pensions spent £1,045 in the last three years (zero in 2018). Spending on union jacks by the Department for International Trade was £653.05 this year and last.
Surprisingly for a department that may be seen as being in the culture war frontline, the Department for Education bought just of the flags in 2019 for a total of £134. The Wales Office has spent £824 since 2018. This included £597.50 in 2020-21, and the same amount again on Welsh flags.
This is good news for flagmakers but from the point of view of other taxpayers one is bound to question the government's priorities. The amount involved would not cover the £20 a week cut from Universal Credit payments, but it does indicate which of the two Ministers consider to be the more important.
The Guardian reports that spending on union flags has increased in virtually every government department since Johnson entered Downing Street, with more than £163,000 spent this year and last. It accounts for 85% of union flag purchases over the past four years:
The lion’s share has come from two departments: the Ministry of Defence (MoD) – whose spending has increased each year since 2018 and comes to £118,000 since the start of 2018 – and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). More than 83% (£54,420.89) of the spending by the DCMS was last year, which it says was due to the need to replace many flags due to wear and tear.
Other government departments have also been stocking up. At the Cabinet Office, which recently axed £2.6m plans for White House-style TV briefings featuring flags, more than £3,000 has been spent on union jacks since the start of 2018, including the purchase of eight in the most recent financial year at a cost of £1,999.47.
The Treasury has spent nearly £1,000 on union flags since 2018, including three this year at a cost of £607.06. Spending this year perhaps compensates for the purchase of a solitary £3.25 table-top union jack last year.
The purchases – detailed after a freedom of information request – come against the backdrop of another apparent escalation of the flag-based culture war when the culture minister, Oliver Dowden, announced that the national flag should be flown from all UK government buildings every day, and urged councils to do likewise.
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, was taken to task in a parliamentary committee hearing by a Tory MP for failing to include images of the flag in the corporation’s annual report, while another Conservative wore a union flag tie and face mask in the House of Commons chamber to rail against what he described as a “ban” on the display of the flag in the Welsh parliament.
....
Elsewhere in government, the Department for Transport has spent £1,100 since 2018 on union flags (including £700 last year) and Jenrick’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it spent £90.05 on the flags this year, with no record of purchases in other recent years.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy stocked up on £392 worth of flags this year and last – zero in the years previously – while the Department for Work and Pensions spent £1,045 in the last three years (zero in 2018). Spending on union jacks by the Department for International Trade was £653.05 this year and last.
Surprisingly for a department that may be seen as being in the culture war frontline, the Department for Education bought just of the flags in 2019 for a total of £134. The Wales Office has spent £824 since 2018. This included £597.50 in 2020-21, and the same amount again on Welsh flags.
This is good news for flagmakers but from the point of view of other taxpayers one is bound to question the government's priorities. The amount involved would not cover the £20 a week cut from Universal Credit payments, but it does indicate which of the two Ministers consider to be the more important.
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The Union flag does not represent the union.Where is the Northern Ireland motive AND the Welsh dragon on this flag. If we are to have 'flag waving' it should represent all areas of the Union
It is good news for one Tawe Valley enterprise, which claims the moral high ground in its employment practices. However, I seem to recall that Red Dragon was on the wrong side in the Brexit debate.
Tawe valley enterprises. How about having ALL individual Union flags flying from the flag posts for UK solidarity? Boost your business model!! We do need some sort of unity.
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