Flying the flag

Lemongrove ?

Bodach

lemsip

if they are making video calls from home then presumably they are work calls as it's the 'office' to all intents and purposes so that is why the union jack is there. Why would someone question it? What's wrong with people, not the flag.

Absolutely right, lemsip. Some years ago, the nature of my job meant that I often accompanied official visitors from abroad to meetings in the offices of several Secretaries of State and related Ministers in various Government Departments. As far as I can recall, union flags and photographs of HM the Queen were standard office furniture - and were always included in the 'grip and grin' photos. Had these individuals been 'Zooming' on official business from home (and from what I got to know of them) I'm sure the same flag and photo would have been on view. And it may surprise all you 'lefties' out there to know that Labour was in Government then.

But it is not "the office" is it? They are in their own homes.
That is the silliness of it, nothing to do with what side of the political fence one sits on.

I don't suppose every one of them will have a dedicated home office, what with other members of the family working from home and with home schooling.

Do the rest of the household want some enormous flag cluttering up the place.

This business with flags bears no relation to if one loves ones country or not, we don't all have to parade our patriotism in order to feel it.

That’s because some don’t feel it Ilovecheese, sadly.

“This business with flags bears no relation to if one loves ones country or not, we don't all have to parade our patriotism in order to feel it.”

Of course you don’t but why do people who feel that way also feel the need to mock those who want to?

Pantglas2
I think because, with the politicians, it just doesn't look authentic.

I think that we should be like the USA and many other nations and swear allegiance to the flag at school every morning. It has made the disparate American people into one nation, time for us Brits to do the same. Also, much is made of St David's Day, St Andrew's Day, St Patrick's Day, it is time for St George's Day to come to the fore and fly the English flag. Why should we English be ashamed the Welsh, Scots, N Irish are not. We do not even have our own parliament.

It isn’t about having the flag in your own house / garden, this thread is about ( the OP) disliking to see other people ( in this case politicians) showing our flag in their home offices.
A sort of ‘how very dare they’ ( it’s sinister!)
No, actually it isn’t anything of the kind.

varian

It does look as if the Tory Party are trying to misuse the union jack in the same way that the SNP misuse the saltire.

These national flags belong to all of us, not to any political party.

How about the Welsh flag? Not really fair that they have the best flag and the best anthem is it. The Welsh first minister always appears with a flag.

The tory party are not misusing the the union flag. They are cabinet members and they should fly the flag IMO. Yes it is a flag that belongs to all of us. The marching thugs have had it for too long let's claim it back.

I'm sure I've seen the Labour leader with the flag in the background too.

I quite like to see it flying from the church and on the parish council office. The cricket club fly the English flag along side the club flag on match days.

What is it then?

Do you believe that all these Tory politicians normally live in home festooned with union jacks?

The point is that the effort of the Tory Party to cvlim the flag as theirs and theirs alone has devalued our national symbol and brought it into disrepute.

to claim the flag

I don’t agree lemongrove, I think there’s a difference between people in their homes and gardens, of their own choice displaying a flag, and it being used by politicians in recent months as a talisman for Britishness. They are cynically using it far more than happened before, to try to engender patriotism, but people see through it.

Also of course, Wales isn’t represented on the union flag. Marmadoit, not important enough?

lemongrove ???

As far as I’ve ever seen, it only in the U.K., or rather in England, that a substantial minority of people seem to think the national flag is something to be ashamed of, or to sneer at.
And that’s the Union Flag.
Heaven help anyone who dares to display the St George’s flag.

Local houses that fly the Union flag see, to be those with military in the family. The St George flag tends to be used to support the English football team.
I fear the Union flag is dismissed by some because it’s associated with the British Empire. I love seeing say, the Irish, Greek or stars n stripes flying when I visit those countries. I wish we could fly the union of English flags without being dismissed as fascists, racists or locked in our imperial past.

I’m not brave enough to display the flag of St George anywhere on 23rd April Witzend that’s for sure.
???????
A feast day of St George has been celebrated in England for hundreds of years on 23 April, which was possibly the date of his martyrdom. Following the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, St George's Day became one of the most important feast days in the English calendar.

No longer, sadly.

Urmstongran

I think the Union flag is all about drawing us all together, post-Brexit. No bad thing as it represents something that unites us all, surely?
?? ?

In your dreams, Ug.

The sight of our self seeking, corrupt, and mendacious PM posturing in front of our national flag just fills me with disgust; as do his equally corrupt and mendacious ministers doing the same thing. They are dishonouring it.

All it does is draw me together with people who feel the same way about our government.

It is very sad Urmstongran ????????????????????????????

Maisie D I feel the same way about our government. Loathsome, corrupt, mendacious (love that) and yes, dishonouring our flag. How to reclaim it

I don't presume to dictate to others how they ought to feel about their own country. However I would not, whatever my view, ridicule others for feeling a sense of pride or showing respect for their own country, its institutions, its Head of State or for the national flag. To do so betrays a considerable lack of respect for the views and opinions of others - not to mention those of a large swathe of the population of the UK in this particular case.

I cannot begin to imagine that these two BBC presenters would have done that to an elected official representing the EU, or the USA or indeed Scotland. But it seems it is acceptable to belittle anyone who is proud of the British flag or our Monarch.

This has more than a touch of the Emily Thornberry about it. A disingenuous apology and un-liking a tweet really is not sufficient. The damage is done and it is not the first time these presenters have stepped over the line. If the BBC is serious about addressing concerns regarding bias, the first thing it ought to have done would be to remove these two, at least for a while. They are too full of themselves.

varian

What is it then?

Do you believe that all these Tory politicians normally live in home festooned with union jacks?

At number 10 and at their offices they should have them.

I've got some flags somewhere. I have 5 sons all into cricket, football, rugby. Yes we had flags hanging out of the windows when they were younger. Lots of families around us had flags out for VE day last summer. I'm sure Emily Thornberry would not have approved.

I really don't care who has flags and who doesn't.

How do you feel about the EU flag?

What Urmston said.

I love the Union Jack. I'm proud to be British and why not, there's an awful lot to be grateful for? I voted to remain in the EU but accept the democratic decision to leave (like we all should IMO). I am not racist, don't support the far right or the far left for that matter and if our MPs want to have the UJ flag in their zoom calls, then why not? Perhaps we should encourage all political parties to use it more. If anyone wants to fly the flag in their garden I don't assume I know any more about their politics than I do about what they had for supper. Is it lock down that is making us so unkind and judgemental?

love the Union Jack. I'm proud to be British and why not, there's an awful lot to be grateful for

You’re so right of course foxie. It’s pretty amazing living here. We take it for granted sometimes.

The BBC won’t displace Naga Munchetty. There must be a reason why, but I can't for the life of me think what it is.