The Government has spent more than £163,000 on Union flags in two years as part of its drive to boost pride in the national symbol. Figures reported by the Guardian showed spending had increased in virtually every Whitehall department since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister. But Paul, from Glasgow, suggested Boris Johnson is attempting to implement “American-style politics”.
Speaking to the Jeremy Vine show, Paul said: “I think Boris is trying to introduce an America-style politics where every time someone comes on to tell us about anything, he’s not Union Jacks plastered all over the place.
“The most impressive use of the Union Jack was when Boris got it painted on a plane upside down so that it could subliminally tell the world how dreadful we’re doing post-Brexit.”
He added: “It’s absolutely not welcome in Scotland.
“He came north of the border and refused to meet the First Minister on the eve of a meeting about the environment, he didn’t think it was important enough to meet the democratically-elected political leader in Scotland.”
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The more than £163,000 spend in 2020 and 2021 amounts to 85% of flag purchases over the past four years.
The Ministry of Defence has spent £118,000 since the start of 2018 while the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) spent £54,420.89 last year alone as worn-out flags were replaced.
The Cabinet Office has spent more than £3,000 since the start of 2018, with just under £2,000 of that funding the purchase of eight flags in the most recent financial year.
The figures, revealed by Freedom of Information Act requests, found the Treasury has spent nearly £1,000 on Union flags since 2018, including three this year at a cost of £607.06.
Robert Colls, professor of cultural history at De Montfort University, told the Guardian: “I think what we are seeing at the moment from the Government is a kind of pushback against devolution and threats to the Union.”
In March, the DCMS published new guidance calling for the flag to be flown every day above Government buildings.
At the time, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the flag was a “proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us”, and “people rightly expect it to be flown above UK Government buildings”.
Exemptions apply when other flags – such as national flags of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, county flags, or other flags to mark “civic pride” – are flown.
