PM accused of forcing union flag ‘down people’s throats’ with plan to stamp it on post-Brexit projects
Australian MPs are calling on Boris Johnson to include the freedom of movement of goods and people into any future trade deal between the two nations ; Brian Lawless/PA Wire - Credit: PA
Boris Johnson has signed off on plans to stamp the Union flag on projects paid for by the UK government in Scotland after Brexit.
The flag will replace the European Union symbol, which is used to denote projects the trading bloc has help fund, from next year, The Telegraph has reported.
Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, has backed the idea telling colleagues in Westminster that the government needed to be 'unashamed of our investment in Scotland'.
You may also want to watch:
But SNP politicians greeted the news with dismay, with one accusing Downing Street of 'posturing of the worst order' and 'trying to force the Union flag down people's throats'.
Most Read
- 1 Empty shelves are partly down to Brexit - but Leavers won't admit it
- 2 Why Bristol is the street art city
- 3 The Spanish village with the mythical blue lagoon
- 4 Telling the truth is now the only sackable offence
- 5 Has something shifted in sado-populist Britain?
- 6 What I learned by avoiding England and the Euros
- 7 Cost of Brexit is already 38 times more than the money set aside for levelling up
- 8 A very nearly enchanted evening
- 9 Boris Johnson: The sado-populist prime minister
- 10 Priti Patel - the poster girl for our poisonous politics
From 2021, the Union flag will appear on projects funded by Westminster in Scotland but will not apply to those being funded solely by the Scottish government, which receives its budget in annual block grants from London.
On Thursday, Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary, said the initiatives had been signed off by Johnson and Michael Gove, the cabinet office minister, and would start after the end of the Brexit transition period.
'Where there is direct investment or joint investment between the two governments, you would expect to see the Union Jack sitting alongside the Saltire,' he said.
Acknowledging the flag would be off-putting to SNP supporters, he quipped: 'They never got upset about seeing a European Union flag sitting alongside the Saltire.'
Tommy Sheppard, a senior SNP MP, described the plan as 'foolish, and political tokenism and posturing of the worst order'.
He said: 'It would probably be counterproductive because there is no point trying to force the union flag down people's throats in the hope that they would like it.
'If the Union is so great, they should not need constantly to use the flag to promote it.'
Johnson visited Scotland last month in a bid to promote 'the sheer might' of the Union following a rise in Scots supporting a second independence referendum.
MORE: Boris Johnson told visits to Scotland will lead to rise in support for independence
He also toured Belfast on Thursday where he met with Stormont leaders to discuss ways to strengthen backing for the Union in Northern Ireland as the country rebuilds after the coronavirus.
Polling for the Tories north of the border remains dismal with one poll suggesting Boris Johnson is 100 points behind Scottish first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon in voters' approval ratings.
Downing Street is believed to be worried that a rise in support for independence and a potential landslide victory for the SNP in next year's Holyrood elections could put serious strain on the future of the Union.
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
