St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Patricia Ferguson

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Patricia Ferguson]

I thank the hon. Gentleman, my colleague and friend, for his comments. I will come on to talk about flag shortly, so I will not answer him directly at this moment.

As I was saying, I think that comments such as those that we heard last week are despicable. I for one will continue to praise and welcome the work of teachers across Glasgow who work to support bilingual families and multiculturalism. There is much good work going on to promote that within the city of Glasgow. In my own area, every year Thriving Places Drumchapel hosts a well-attended Hope not Hate event, which showcases the talents that young people from other countries and traditions have brought to our local area.

I mentioned earlier that the saltire is the flag of St Andrew and the flag of Scotland. It does not belong to any one of us and it does not belong to any political party. Like the man whose death we should remember when we consider that flag, it is a flag of welcome and inclusion—we would all do well to remember that. I have no problem with people celebrating their nationality by flying their flag, whichever flag that happens to be, but when that flag is used to threaten, intimidate or suggest to people that they are not part of that country, then that is bullying, which is despicable.

That is why I found the showing of flags across the country this summer, wherever they happened to be, to be totally reprehensible, because in many instances—perhaps not all—that was being done for entirely the wrong reasons. We have to be proud of our flags as symbols of our identity. Whatever our political differences, we share certain values—values that we will work with anyone to protect. At the end of the day, those values are what make us who we are and they are important; if they are not, they should be.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. I remind hon. Members that if they are going to refer to other hon. Members in the House and criticise them, they should have informed them beforehand.