An “enthusiastic fan of the UK’s transformation into a multiracial society over the past 50 years” has taken it upon himself to start a campaign called reFLAG to rebrand the flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack.

“Our” flag — I quote the word ‘our’ as the Union Jack isn’t really the native flag of the Scots :) — tends to engender bad feelings when it is flown. Scottish nationalists hate it for the evocation of the 1707 union between Scotland and England; it’s commonly associated with skinheads, racists and fascists, cf. the National Front; it’s very often used here in Central Scotland and in Northern Ireland by those Unionist sectarians, cf. the more hardline Rangers supporters, Orangemen, etc.

Despite all that, it’s still the flag of our nation, and I really don’t think there’s a need to rebrand the bloody country. So I sent them this:

What a ridiculous idea – the Scotsman nailed you right on the head – “The United Kingdom is not a firm which changes its corporate branding each time the management alters.” The French, the Americans have had the same flag for centuries, with exactly the same colours as the UK flag, yet they feel no need to alter it to incorporate other colours to satisfy political correctness despite their large population of both legal and illegal immigrants.

Have you also given a thought to other countries which currently incorporate the Union Jack? They include St. Helena, Australia, New Zealand, Tokelau, Tuvalu, the Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Bermuda, and Anguila.

Have you thought about the sheer cost of rebranding an entire country? Look at the millions spent by corporate entities when they rebrand [think bp, Shell, British Airways, Channel 5 / five, Consignia, and the BBC], and the criticism they draw when they do so. Look at the complaints from television licence fee payers when the BBC spent huge amounts of their revenue on rebranding. Stop for a second and ask yourself and perhaps other taxpayers around you if you’d be willing to foot the bill to change every flag flown and printed in the entire country, and in other countries too.

Political correctness for the sake of it is never useful.

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