Councillor's support for Montrose beach saltire described as electioneering
A Montrose councillor has been accused of double standards and electioneering in the wake of the row over the beachfront saltire.
- By Graeme Strachan
- Published in the Courier : 11.07.11
- Published online : 11.07.11 @ 09.42am
Independent councillor and Angus Alliance member Mark Salmond was rounded on by fellow Montrose member Paul Valentine, who claimed Mr Salmond's "sudden leap to patriotism" was "a little baffling."
Mr Valentine hit out after reading Mr Salmond's comments in Saturday's Courier after Angus Council's decision to back down in a row with Montrose businessman Henry Pinder, who demanded to see the saltire flying again at the beachfront.
Mr Pinder, who runs the beach cafe and amusement arcade at the beachfront, was unhappy that a 40ft flagpole was empty after being told the council would not put the saltire back up until September when three other flags were removed.
Mr Salmond waded in and asked the council to reflect on the decision. The local authority made a U-turn and decided to put the saltire back up this week.
However, his SNP rival Mr Valentine has taken issue with comments he made after the council backed down.
"I fully support Mr Pinder's request that the saltire be flown at Montrose beach," Mr Salmond had told The Courier afterwards. "It is very important that we should support our Scottish identity and what better way than to have Scotland's flag flying at Montrose's premier beachfront?"
Responding to the comments, Mr Valentine said, "As a member of the Angus Alliance, Councillor Salmond wanted to take it (the saltire) down in 2007 and replace it with the Angus flag. He's got to back up what he says with what he does.
"He hasn't been a supporter of flying the saltire in the past so his sudden leap to patriotism is a little baffling.
'Positioning'
"Undoubtedly with 10 months to go before an election he is trying to position himself as a patriot so when the time comes he is a friend of the Nationalists.
"I went down to visit Mr Pinder on Friday and the impression I get was tourists were looking for the saltire to be flying.
"It doesn't make sense to have the flagpole there and no saltire. The saltire flies at West Links Park in Arbroath so there was no reason not to have it flying at Montrose beach.
"They have the platform and you can stand up on it and get your photo taken with the saltire in the background and that is extremely popular."
In 2007, the Angus Alliance announced plans to replace the national flag with a version of the heraldic Angus crest. This led to 7000 signing up to written and online petitions protesting against the removal of the saltire from council buildings.
Ruling Angus Alliance members carried the Angus flag plan forward by the narrowest of margins, but in response to a bitter backlash against the idea the council leader came up with a scheme to have more flagpoles put up on civic buildings.
The council was forced to put up extra flagpoles on the main council buildings at an extra £5000 cost so the new flag could fly alongside the saltire.
10.31am - 11.07.2011 Mike Stirling - Forfar, Scotland, nuclear free with SNP. Report This
Looks like someone's just discovered which end of the trough has the ripe apples and which the sour grapes!
12.31pm - 12.07.2011 CH - Broughty Ferry Dundee, Scotland Report This
I thought everyone knew that to be a supporter of the saltire, you had to be a nationalist or separatist? All others are excluded. This means around 65-70% of the population, but who cares?
12.36pm - 16.07.2011 Ian - Arbroath, Scotland Report This
"...replace it with the Angus flag." I take issue with your use of this phrase. At no point has the Rainbow Alliance Party's flag been any flag of, or represented Angus. At no time did this political party consult the people of Angus nor ask their opinion on it's imposition or design.
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