I think it's probably just easier to just rebrand the UK as "Landia" and get it over and done with.
So, hand the problem over to some PR company. Get new boring generic flag, as the current one needs velcro patches to deal with those seceding bits. New national anthem (suggest the Archer's theme tune) with lyrics unlikely to offend anyone or mean anything at all.
This way the letterheads stay the same, Could then be flogged to other states, like one of them [insert name here] Deed Poll packs. Could include precedents from the divorce courts, ie Landia gets visiting rights on the Shetlands every other Sunday and so on.
I still suspect the entire thing is a put-up job by the printers and flag makers, or to annoy UKIP.-- not_morrison_rm, Sep 17 2014 Just join the Venus Project... https://www.youtube...watch?v=uphxFHnVv1EIf you don't die of boredom before you reach the end of the video [pashute, Sep 17 2014] New Zealand PM John Key wants flag change http://m.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29306394...I am mildly ahead of the curve [not_morrison_rm, Sep 22 2014] I was thinking about a new flag for the union remnants (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
I propose a competition, where every infant schoolchild in the land (reception and years 1 & 2 - ages approx 4-7) is given the project (at school, during schooltime) to design the flag. A suitable set of restrictions would be described in preparation (minimal detail, limited colour palette etc.). However, all entries are accepted.
Then we could have some sort of mega-competition. I propose a heirarchical, inclusive approach:
Before each stage, flags with obviously similar designs are merged into groups. Groups potentially get larger as they progress through the competition. Who decides what to merge I leave as a detail.
The first round would involve all non-infant primary school children (ages 7-12) voting on which designs from their school would progress to the next round. Each school would pass on a given fraction of entries - say, 5% (a group counts as one entry). The entries from several schools in each area are then combined for display. The second round would involve all secondary school children and also those out of education but too young to vote in elections (ages approx 12-18) voting on which entries should progress. At this point the selected flags (/flag groups) would be digitised to make subsequent rounds easier to handle. The third round would be local to each electoral region. Everyone of legal voting age can vote - a single image (/group) from each area is selected. In the fourth round, everyone who has so far taken part gets to vote on which is best. They pick primarily a group, and then, if there is more than one image, which amongst those is preferred.
We then have a nice official image which can be redrafted as suitable for the occasion.
On reflection, we might need a few intercalcated rounds to keep the number of choices managable at each stage. 20 options is managable, 650 is not.-- Loris, Sep 17 2014 // I still suspect the entire thing is a put-up job by the printers and flag makers //
Seems likely. Even if they don't win, the campaign has probably resulted in an increased sale of flags.-- scad mientist, Sep 17 2014 All flags should be legally required to depict nothing more than the outline of the territory and perhaps a few pithy words or a motto or something (in a standard font). Like Cypress and the UN flag.-- the porpoise, Sep 17 2014 Put out an all-call for former members of the Empire to come rejoin. The Faulkland Islands can be the poster child. Hong Kongs new keepers probably won't let it back but the voters of Pakistan might be in the mood for some competent administrators.-- bungston, Sep 17 2014 // UK //
Sp. "British Empire"
British foreign policy for many centuries was pretty much not really to have a foreign policy, but to concentrate on mucking things up for the french. As a result, lots of bits of the world were "aquired" by adventurers like Drake, Raleigh and Clive. The HEIC ran India as a business for a hundred years. The Hudson's Bay Company ran big chunks of Canada, mainly because no-one else wanted (or wants) it.
<Blackadder>
"When I joined up we were still fighting colonial wars. If you saw someone in a skirt you shot him and nicked his country."
</Blackadder>-- 8th of 7, Sep 17 2014 Okay, so Scotland on average prefers to stay. But I think we should do this flag thing anyway.
I like the idea of having an official flag decorated with lots of little crayon hearts, or similar.-- Loris, Sep 20 2014 If this is intended to solve a problem, describe the problem that is being solved. Until then I'll assume this is a political rant [-]-- Voice, Sep 20 2014 //If this is intended to solve a problem,
Errr, yes, it's a way for countries that may fragment to keep some kind of coherent image. For example if Catalonia secedes and so on. would have been handy for Yugoslavia and so on, could be handy for Iraq etc-- not_morrison_rm, Sep 20 2014 Update, star date about 9-ish.
"New Zealand PM John Key wants flag change vote in 2015" beeb news story, link.
Another customer for the flag with velcro bits on it.-- not_morrison_rm, Sep 22 2014 I like the generic flag idea. There are a couple of countries that just use two colors, one above, one below, and that's it. (I didn't even realize that was a country's flag, one time.) Or something vague, like a mailed fist or an AK-47.
For the British Isles area, I recommend lower half grass green, upper half cloud gray, and centered, a scone over crossed sausages.-- baconbrain, Sep 22 2014 Howabout an empty pole to salute to?
Or perhaps a white flag. That'd confuse your enemies...-- RayfordSteele, Sep 22 2014 The empty flagpole hazard was covered by the Goons in "shifting sands", the problem was they lost their Union Jack, they still knew who they were fighting for, bur they just couldn't prove.-- not_morrison_rm, Sep 22 2014 random, halfbakery