Editing Union Jack (section)

====21st century====
[[File:Union Flag (including Wales).svg|thumb|left|One suggested redesign of the Union Jack with the red dragon from the [[flag of Wales]] added in the centre]]
The lack of any Welsh symbol or colours in the flag is a result of Wales having been considered an integral part of the Kingdom of England at the time the [[flag of Great Britain]] was created in 1606. Since there is no Welsh element in the Union Jack, [[Wrexham]]'s [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] [[Ian Lucas]] proposed on 26 November 2007 in a [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] debate that the Union Flag be combined with the [[Flag of Wales|Welsh flag]] to reflect Wales's status within the UK, and that the [[Welsh Dragon|red dragon]] be added to the Union Flag's red, white, and blue pattern.<ref name="welsh">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7114248.stm |title=Welsh dragon call for Union flag |publisher=BBC |date=27 November 2007}}</ref> He said the Union Jack currently only represented the other three UK nations, and [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport|Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism]] [[Margaret Hodge]] conceded that Lucas had raised a valid point for debate. She said, "the Government is keen to make the Union Flag a positive symbol of Britishness reflecting the diversity of our country today and encouraging people to take pride in our flag." This development sparked design contests with entries from all over the world.<ref name="face">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572168/The-new-face-of-Britain-Flag-poll-results.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572168/The-new-face-of-Britain-Flag-poll-results.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The new face of Britain Flag poll results |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=5 December 2007 |first=Matthew |last=Moore}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In the run-up to the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum]], various non-official suggestions were made for how the flag could be redesigned without the St Andrew's Cross if Scotland left the Union. However, as Scotland voted against independence, the issue did not arise.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25205017 |first1= Sam |last1=Judah |title=What would the union jack look like if the Scottish bit were removed? |website=BBC |date=4 December 2013 |access-date=3 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/galleryguide/0,,184378,00.html |title=The Union Jack: your designs |website=The Guardian |access-date=3 December 2015}}</ref>