Yesterday
evening, passing by Victoria Tower I spotted that the Union flag fluttering from
the summit was looking decidedly tired. Not quite ingloriously tatty, but very noticeably
frayed.
A metaphor,
perhaps.
This is one
of those “on the one hand .. . on the other” issues. It’s a positive that the
Parliamentary authorities are husbanding their resources (they’ve already announced
significant cuts), especially given the IPSA costs fiasco today and the
Irvine wallpaper of the past. Then again, flying a grotty national emblem from
the top of the Mother of Parliaments (a Grade I listed building and World
Heritage site to boot) is a bit tawdry.
As it
happens I’m not going to delve into that particularly debate here. Nor am I
suggesting that the Speaker’s wife should take time off from twittering to play
at Betsy Ross. But it did get me thinking about what happens to these symbols of our
national democracy after they have outlived their use. I suspect they are
quietly retired.
The
Americans have developed an almost industrial system of flying flags from
Congress to hand out as gifts and awards. I’m certainly not saying we should go
this far.
But I wonder if we are not missing a trick with the ones that we do fly.
Can ConHome
readers suggest to what use we could put a retired flag? Should we store it,
waiting for presentation to, say, the Speaker of the Canadian Senate during Mr Bercow’s
next visit there? What about having one hanging on permanent display at RAF
Lyneham? Should it adorn the back of a hall in a large citizenship ceremony; sit
in a presentation case ready to accompany the next General Schwarzkopf-style honorary
knighthood (Petraeus?); or should we be absolutely dispassionate, and let it wend
its way via e bay even to Beirut or Teheran, funding the flags budget and its
replacement?
