An obscure House of Lords debate has revealed a controversial proposal by the Government to alter the law regarding the European Union flag.
It was discovered earlier this year by Mark Croucher, UK Independence Party Communications Director, that the practice of flying the EU flag without planning permission is illegal. This forced the European Parliament building in London to take down its flag.
Under British law, all non-national flags are currently classified as advertising material.
However, Baroness Andrews, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, revealed in a debate on Thursday that a change in the law will allow the EU flag to be flown without planning permission, giving it a status at present accorded only to national flags.
According to Baroness Andrews, this measure is necessary to ensure that there "will be no repeat of the recent events in Westminster and the Weir Valley where UKIP drew attention to the fact that EU flags have been flown without the consent."
Lord Waddington, responding to the proposed change, asked "as the EU is not, thank goodness, a nation, would it not be intolerable if we were to give this flag the same status as our national flags?"
Praising Lord Waddington's speech, Youthkip UOM Acting Chairman Tom Hughes said "this is just another step down the road to an EU superstate. The Government go to great lengths to tell us that we are not heading for a country called Europe, yet in secret they act to make exactly that a reality."
He urged all those who oppose this change to the law to contact their local MP and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to express their revulsion.
Note to editors:
The debate referred to can be found at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds05/text/51103-01.htm#51103-01_star1
