Let’s see who salutes May 15th, 2011
I, like most people, gave a little patriotic cheer when Eric Pickles announced that the pointlessly bureaucratic rules on flag flying are going to be relaxed. Pickles has always been a man that is willing to confront the issues that others shy away from.
I think the benefits of doing this are manifestly obvious. We all accept that flying flags is a fantastic catalyst for community cohesion; there’s something about flags flapping away that brings a community together. As he rightly points out “misplaced political correctness” can prevent the unification that comes from flying national and local flags.
Though we all know this is true I’m pleased that Pickles must have at last found an objective evidence base to prove this is true. After all, it is unlikely that a Government that has put such store in the lack public funds would waste valuable time and effort on something like this without clear evidence.
I think I’d always known that there must be some Kafkaesque bureaucracy surrounding the flying of flags, though as I don’t have a flag pole it isn’t something that I’ve ever been confronted with. Fortunately the press release from Communities and Local Government highlight the ridiculous hoops these jobsworths make us jump through.
Apparently you do not need permission to fly the flag of:-
- any country in the world
- the European Union
- the United Nations
- the Commonwealth
- any County
- the patron saint associated with a County
There are a number of flags that can be flown with deemed consent, these are:-
- An organisations own flag
- An advertisement for an event in the building
When you look at both the lists above you do begin to wonder which community it is that is being disadvantaged by the current rules. Clearly communities can quite happily already fly national and local flags without seeking permission so what is this all about?
The only people I can think of that currently need to ask permission to fly flags are pirates. Pirates are frequently maligned in the press and it is good to see Pickles doing his best to redress this. Worth every penny.
Posted in Politics | Comments (5)
May 15th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
I passed a garden not far from here a couple of weeks ago, just after that wedding. There was a flag pole in the garden. Not a length of bamboo or 2X2, but a full on proper white painted flag pole, with ropes and a bobble thing on the top and everything. And at the top of the flag pole was a Union Flag. Upside down.
I really don’t get that someone is patriotic enough to have bloody great flag pole installed in their front garden, buy a Union Flag to hoist up it, but can’t be bothered to find out which way up their national flag goes.
May 15th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Funny thing is, CLG *did* actually fly the Jolly Roger on April Fools Day… http://flagsinformation.blogspot.com/2011/04/dclg-building-april-fools-day-joke.html
May 15th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Apparently.
May 20th, 2011 at 7:27 am
[…] very funny piece on the DCLG’s obsession with flags… […]
May 20th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
Proof the pirate flag flew http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliac2006/5579561597/