UKIP: Fly Union Jacks over Welsh schools to ‘reassert’ Britishness
http://dailywales.net/2015/01/22/ukip-fly-union-jacks-over-welsh-schools-to-reassert-britishness/snip
The culture spokesperson for UKIP wants all British schools to fly the Union Flag to help ‘reassert’ Britishness.
The idea comes from Peter Whittle, a former stockbroker and failed Tory Party candidate, who would also like to see a reduction in the number of non-English languages taught in schools.
Whittle set out his views in an interview with the Guardian newspaper. He states:
“I don’t know about the anthem necessarily, but I would certainly like to see the Union Jack in schools. That’s not UKIP policy, that’s just what I would like to see.
“It is something that in America does make a difference. The old idea that the British don’t proclaim all of this stuff was born of another time.”
/snip
He also wants to limit the number of languages taught in schools.
The rest at link.
= new reply since forum marked as read
"I'm a bigot"?
Dumb-ass. 
have covered, you're never going to get a balanced view. It's far more nuanced, and the whole political complexion of Scotland, even in areas that voted No, has changed since the Referendum - just look at any recent Scottish polls, where the SNP are well ahead of Labour.
It has only a tangential relation to sectarianism as an issue, which is an extreme example of the divisions - not one that can be ignored, but neither should it be exaggerated. Most folks, like me, look at the track record of the SNP and see them as a left-of-center party trying to do its best for our interests. It's nothing to do with anti-Englishness, despite hotheads and spats on both sides, it's a reaction against the overwhelming influence and priorities of the current state of Westminster, and you don't have to be Scottish to take exception to those. If the Referendum was held tomorrow, you might be surprised at the result after all the prevaricating and backtracking about the supposed "Vow" set out by Gordon Brown and signed off on by Cameron not long before the vote, which was supposed to guarantee Devo Max in return for a No result.
Some folks in my village who have a property of a size that allows a flagpole fly the Saltire, some fly the Union Flag (since this where the whole conversation began). Some take no notice beyond it being another household decoration, some shrug as they pass by, some will nod in approval at one or other, for the great majority it's not a big deal, at worst another eccentricity among many in a small commnunity.
It's different in parts of Ayrshire (Unionist country, by and large, and somewhere my normally unperturbable American Roman Catholic wife finds uncomfortable to travel through), and varies from district to district in big conurbations like Glasgow, often tied to football club allegiances - Celtic (traditionally Catholic) versus Rangers (traditional Protestant), for instance. We have Orange Marches even around here, a major one taking place without incident in our nearest sizeable town only last year, which wasn't at all welcome to the local populace, who aren't really sectarian at all.
But take a look at a few images from immediately after the Referendum, which illustrate what flags can bring people to do.
Yes supporters had been in the habit of gathering in George Square in Glasgow, generally peaceably, in the run-up to the vote. It became a focal point, as it had been in the days of John McLean.
There'd been a few faceoffs between Yes and No supporters immediately before the Referendum, though they never came to much other than a bit of posturing on both sides. But after the No vote, Yes voters gathered again that evening, quite subdued at the result. But there'd been mobilization by Unionists (I won't label them No voters as I don't believe they're representative), some of them far right to say the least, swelling their numbers with thugs shipped in from south of the border who weren't averse to Nazi salutes. Having tanked up in some of the local bars, they converged on George Square, where some ugly scenes resulted, including running battles along neighbouring streets - basically a football riot without the excuse of the football:
POLICE said last night they were confident of tracing more people after making 11 arrests following “ugly” scenes at a violent pro-Union demonstration in Glasgow on Friday.
Officers set up an incident room to examine “valuable” CCTV evidence as SNP councillors criticised them for not acting more quickly to contain the disorder that broke out just hours after the Scottish independence referendum result was announced.
Police Scotland said arrests were for disorder, breach of the peace and vandalism, after people were attacked or threatened by the 700-strong mob who set off flares in the city’s George Square, where peaceful Yes rallies were held during the referendum campaign.
An estimated 150 police, some on horseback, were drafted in to separate the Union-flag waving demonstrators – some of whom were members of the extreme right-wing Scottish Defence League – from independence supporters.
It was epitomized for many by scenes involving a couple of young women - sisters, as it turned out - being manhandled by some of these thugs:
The sisters were arrested, and we've yet to hear whether they'll need to attend court to face charges of "interfering with the policing" of the demonstration, the original basis for their arrests. As far as we know, the police are still working on tracking down some of the "Unionists" who were the instigators of the rioting. I've no idea whether the git who was wrestling that Saltire from that young woman is among them.
So, as you'll see, flags can be a bit of an emotive issue, up here at least.
