The battle for Scotland's flag: Why the right has adopted the saltire

7 hours ago Share Save James Cook Scotland editor Share Save

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Something has shifted in Scotland. The saltire, which was long embraced by supporters of Scottish independence, has now been unfurled for a different cause. Up and down the land, the blue and white of St Andrew is fluttering from lampposts and being waved alongside the union flag at anti-immigration protests. Until recently those two standards were more often seen on different sides of the debate about Scotland's future. Now the saltire's presence is generating controversy of its own at demonstrations from Perth to Aberdeen and from Glasgow to Falkirk, where the latest rally was held on Wednesday evening. This battle for Scotland's flag is also a battle about what it means to be a patriot in modern Scotland - a battle of competing nationalisms.

Steven Rennie addresses a rally outside Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Steven Rennie is one of the prominent figures in these recent protests. He blends opposition to independence and immigration with sharp criticism of the Scottish National Party - which is in favour of both. I stood within a few feet of Mr Rennie as he addressed hundreds of supporters in the centre of Glasgow in late September. With his shoulders wrapped in the red, white and blue of the union flag, he spoke of the saltire. "They claimed our national flag as their own and for 12 long years we've allowed them to wield it as a weapon of division and hate. "But no more. We have reclaimed our flag, our identity, our pride and also our resolve," he said.

Those on opposing sides of the debate have ma