PETITION: Flying the flag once again!

[threegee]

Quote

Union Jack to appear on British number plates after March 2019.

Why is this important? For too long the unity of Britain has been allowed to be undermined and now is the time when we leave the EU to give everyone a sense of national pride once again.

SIGN THE PETITION

10,373 signatures as at 31st December 2017

[Vic Patterson]

Tried several times but it won't go!

[ex Bedlingtonian]

worked for me

 

[Pete]

And me, could it be because your in Canada Vic?

[ex Bedlingtonian]

Well I'm not in the UK.

 

[Pete]

Dont know then.

[Vic Patterson]

5th attempt went through okay

[moe19]

I have tried signing  this and a few other petitions in the past on that Government site, I use an old hot-mail email address and have never ever received the verification email from them to click on and verify my signing.

I wonder how many other folk have also been prevented from taking part  in these petitions due to similar  problems 

[John Fox (foxy)]

I use hotmail regularly and it's gone through first time,  someone told me if you don't use a hotmail address for a while they close the account down,  it may be that ??  

[Vic Patterson]

It was also hotmail that I had a problem using!

[moe19]

I use my hotmail  account everyday so I know its active,  its is one of the old @hotmail.com accounts 

[mercuryg]

I've never had a car with the Union Flag on the number plate, and my current one is the only one I've had with Eu flag on it.

[Canny lass]

I can't understand why anybody feels that they must wait until March 2019, or have a petition calling for the right to do so, if they want the Union flag on their number plate. They can have it now if they wish:

"You can display one of the following flags with identifying letters on the left-hand side of the number plate:

• Union Flag
• Cross of St George
• Cross of St Andrew - also known as the Saltire
• Red Dragon of Wales

The letters, or national identifiers, you can have are:

• GREAT BRITAIN, Great britain or GB
• UNITED KINGDOM, United Kingdom or UK
• CYMRU, Cymru or Cym
• ENGLAND, England, ENG, Eng
• Scotland, Scotland, SCO or Sco
• WALES, Wales

You"ll still need  a GB sticker when travelling in Europe if you display one of these national flags and identifiers.

[…] If you display the Euro symbol and Great Britain (GB) national identifier on your number plate, then you won't need a separate GB sticker when travelling within the European Union."  (Source: https://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates/flags-symbols-and-identifiers)

"in the UK,It's not compulsory to even have the side badge at all. In England, Scotland and Wales plates can oficially bear the respective country's national flag, but it's entirely optional.

Likewise, UK vehicles can display the UK flag if they choose. These national plates are not recognised outside UK, hence the GB bumper sticker." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom,_Crown_dependencies_and_overseas_territories#Standard_plates) This page was last edited on 30 July 2017.

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Canny lass

[threegee]

31 minutes ago, Canny lass said:

I can't understand why anybody feels that they must wait until March 2019, or have a petition calling for the right to do so, if they want the Union flag on their number plate. They can have it now if they wish:

I understand the EU flag it's pretty much imposed on you; but whatever, the petition is a signal to the government for when the law is redrafted to exclude EU diktats.  It's up to the level where the govt has to respond now, so we'll be able to read the response in a week or two.

At a practical level: in this part of the EU nothing much is enforced and Brits drive UK registered cars around for years - I will start looking closely but can't remember seeing a GB sticker.  I was using a UK driving licence for almost ten years before swapping it when renewal was required, and that's the norm in these parts.  Crash helmets and seat belts are pretty much optional, that's unless the mayor is struggling to pay the local police wages (which is increasingly the case these days).  They've been going through the old records to try to find property tax bills they've overlooked in previous years in a desperate attempt to keep the town solvent.  So, all the EU propaganda about an economic recovery is just that, and the true state of things is clear in so many other ways.  I don't think I'm going to be using Euros for very much longer!

[Canny lass]

 “Union Jack to appear on British number plates after March 2019.

Why is this important? For too long the unity of Britain has been allowed to be undermined and now is the time when we leave the EU to give everyone a sense of national pride once again.”

I don’t know if the link provided is redirecting me to the wrong petition but that is all I’m able to read regarding the nature of the request made to the British Government.

I cannot see any ambiguity whatsoever. The creator of the petition is stating that the Union Jack is to appear on British number plates after March 2019 and further suggesting that its inclusion will restore national pride (hinting that it has disappeared).

I am simply reiterating the stance of the British Government on the issue: the blue EU strip on the number plate is not compulsory today. A national symbol, in the form of a flag, may already be added to the plate – with or without the blue EU strip. Those who purchase a new car today have the option of deciding how the number plate should be. Those who purchase a second-hand car have the option of replacing the plates so it can hardly be described as a “EU diktat”, at least not by my understanding of the word – a dogmatic degree.

I suspect that the creator may be unaware of his rights regarding his number plate.

I am, in the vernacular of ‘the big yin’, shocked, stunned and not a little amazed that anybody could lose their national pride over anything as trivial as a flag on a number plate. Is it being suggested that Great Britain had no national pride prior to the advent of EU, when we didn’t have any flag at all on our number plates.

If we are forced to have a flag then I'm having this one!

Edited January 3, 2018 by Canny lass

[threegee]

The creator of the petition simply wants the right to be British by default again, and not to have to jump through hoops to assert this.  To him/her being British is the default state, and so why should things be different?

In part it's generational, but by no means entirely.  I'm delighted that your flag is the same as mine, and that neither of us are "xenophobes"!

[Canny lass]

17 hours ago, threegee said:

The creator of the petition simply wants the right to be British by default again, and not to have to jump through hoops to assert this.  To him/her being British is the default state, and so why should things be different?

In part it's generational, but by no means entirely.  I'm delighted that your flag is the same as mine, and that neither of us are "xenophobes"!

If the creator, Thomas Barnes, is a British citizen then he is already British by default. Is there no pride in that? It doesn't need a one inch flag on a number plate to prove your British and proud of it. However, he, and every other Brit, is also European by default - and that's not going to change even after Brexit. Am I to assume that he's not proud of being European? Perhaps he'd rather be Chinese or African?

If Thomas, or anybody else for that matter,  has lost all his national pride simply because he's got a blue side stripe on his number plate then that's very sad. I have cars with- and without the blue side stripe yet I'm still very proud to be both British and European.

Thomas Barnes does not have to jump through any hoops to remove the offending blue side stripe from HIS car. Thomas Barnes does not need to jump through any hoops to get a British flag on HIS number plate. There are four choices of flag available plus the option of no flag at all. I'd be willing to wager that he hasn't even tried despite the fact that it probably involves infinitely less choices (the only hoops he'll have to jump through) than choosing which TV channels or newspapers he subscribes to. I wonder how many hoops he jumped through to do that?

If Thomas Barnes is suggesting that EVERY British registered car MUST display a British flag on the number plate then that really would be a 'diktat' - not very becoming of a democratic country.

Look again at my flag. Appearances can be deceiving! Are you sure you have one the same?

 

 

[Vic Patterson]

"to give everyone a sense of national pride once again."

 I don't think what is allowed or not presently allowed is his Mr Barnes's argument he just would like to fly his "COUNTRIES" flag with pride while not breaking any laws and encourage others to do the same. 

I am proud to be British but have no pride in being European! just as I am proud to be Canadian but not North American!

 

[Canny lass]

It is NEVER illegal to fly the Union Flag or any of the national flags of Great Britain, so Thomas Barnes  may fly his flag with pride when, where and how he wishes even today without breaking any laws. Of course, there is a certain protocol to be followed to ensure that it is flown with dignity.

• It may be flown every day of the year
• Normal times are sunrise to sunset but it's not illegal to fly it at night when it should, preferably be illuminated.
• No permission is neede to fly a flag and flags are excluded from most planning and advertising regulations.
• National flags should not be flown in a worn, damaged or dirty condition as this is considered a mark of disrespect to the nation they represent - but it's not illegal.
• It is considered improper - but not illegal - to fly the Union Flag upside down.
• It is equally improper - but not illegal - to use the flag as a tablecloth, seat- or floor covering.

So, as the name suggests, the above serve only as guidelines to the cultural etiquette of flag flying. It is not statutory in any way. (Source: https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags/flying-flags-in-the-united-kingdom/british-flag-protocol/)

Like you, I’m still proud to be British. However, my pride has no affiliation whatsoever with a flag on a number plate. I have not lost my national pride just because I own a car with an EU blue side stripe. The stripe doesn’t make me feel any less British or proud.

I also own a small, British registered, car which I keep in London for my many journeys in and around the south of England. It does not have an EU blue side stripe but I don’t feel any greater pride when I get into that car. How about you? Have you managed to retain your pride in being British without the need to resort to a car sticker on your number plate?

I cannot understand the mentality of Thomas Barnes in petitioning the government of Britain to request something which is already available today, whether that be a national flag on British registered cars or, as you suggest, being able to fly his flag without breaking any laws. There are no flag flying laws to be broken.

Edited January 5, 2018 by Canny lass

[Vic Patterson]

Please excuse the topic drift!

Our number plate /vehicle registration is very different system and only our military have Canadian number plates, each Province issues their own, totally different plates completely, (most provinces only issue a rear plate) issued to the car owner and stays with that owner and not the vehicle, each year a fee is payed for a year/ month sticker, that is all you can affix to a plate. 

Two of my vehicles have personal plates and two have vintage plates, I used to have the Northumberland red yellow stripped flag/ bumper sticker on one truck.

[Canny lass]

 ...which proves my point nicely, Vic. You, and I, have managed to retain our pride in being British without the use of a flag on our number plate. I'm pretty sure most other Brits have too. 

[mercuryg]

"I understand the EU flag it's pretty much imposed on you"

Not on number plates. Of the five cars outside my window only one (mine) shows any flag. It's up to you. 

 

 

[threegee]

I wonder what that flag is Merc?  No, actually I don't!

That's far from the case here.  But... to paraphrase Herr Juncker: The EU flag is losing its importance in Europe.

I  think CL needs to think a little more deeply on the matter: at least as deeply as those on the Brussels gravy train.

[mercuryg]

It's he EU flag, ThreeGee. It was there when I bought the car. Indeed, I thought long and hard about going through with the purchase, fearing it may have some terrible effect on me and make me feel less British (no, I didn't). 

"I  think CL needs to think a little more deeply on the matter"

I really don't think so, as she's made it quite clear it's a non-issue; if you don't want the EU flag - or any other - on your car number plate, you don't have to have it. If you do, you can. I quite like having that freedom of choice, don't you?

[mercuryg]

BTW 3G you'd love it around here! Just the other day I got all my shopping in at a Polish supermarket; bargains to be had, I tell you! And, amazingly, not once was I robbed, beaten or even insulted or looked at in a strange way by those Nasty Immigrants!