English Flag to Fly Over Downing Street during World Cup

So, there it is.  A useless gimmick to capture a few tabloid headlines.  And we thought New Labour was obsessed with the media.

The story, if you hadn't heard it, is that Cameron is proposing the English flag - not Union Jack - flies over Downing Street for the World Cup.  As a means of showing the nation's support, you understand.  Not a gimmick.  Oh, no.

And Wales during the Rugby World Cup?  What about the Cross of St Andrew while Andy Murray is carrying our hopes at Wimbledon?

It's worth debating the use of the English  flag.  You'll have seen it everywhere.  On cars and especially white vans.  There's no problem with flying the flag of your mother country.  One just has to be careful about the attitudes that accompany the flag, that's all.  If it's the "chip-on-the-shoulder English get a raw deal" type of attitude, then there's something extremely dodgy about it. The "let's go all the way to the final, may the best team win" attitude, and it's fine.  But it isn't always, is it?

But Cameron is using the flag for cheap publicity purposes.  And I'll bet ex News of the World Editor, Andy Coulson his PR supremo, had something to do with the idea.  Welcome to Gimmick Government.  You'll see a lot more of this type of thing.  You can be certain of that.