SNP ministers are so offended they have demanded that Boris Johnson’s administration drop the words ‘Britain’ or ‘UK’ from the branding of a nationwide cultural festival being planned for 2022.
Whitehall insiders said the Scottish Government had also objected to ‘British’ being included in the title or promotional material for the celebration of the “very best of modern Britain.”
According to various reports, the feud is said to have delayed the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) commissioning around £3 million of work from creative agencies tasked with drawing up the material.
HM’s Government sources said the SNP’s stance was “incredibly petty and hugely frustrating”, with the festival expected to give Scotland’s struggling cultural sector a £12 million boost.
The talks with Scotland’s SNP administration are now said to have stalled planning for the festival, the festival has been touted as a successor to the hugely popular 1951 Festival of Britain.
The then Prime Minister Theresa May announced the festival at the 2018 Tory conference with a prediction it would strengthen “our precious Union”, Prime Minister Johnson wants to use it to boost nations morale following the coronavirus pandemic.
It has also been revealed that the Prime Minister is planning his third trip in three months to Scotland next month.
The Government is drawing up plans for 10 events as part of the 2022 festival, including one in Scotland, that would include spectacular performances and shows of cultural strength.
The events will also celebrate the UK’s achievements in science, engineering and technology as Mr Johnson seeks to strike new trade deals with nations around the world after the post-Brexit transition period is over.
A source told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: “We want to create a festival that showcases the very best of modern Britain but the Scottish Government are causing unnecessary delays because they want to remove all references to Britain or the UK when we launch the next phase.
“All parts of the UK should be working together to deliver something that we can all be proud of.”
The Scottish Government did not say whether ministers had asked for the words ‘UK’ and ‘Britain’ to be removed from the festival.
A spokesman for the SNP administration said: “We have been engaging positively since very early in the process on this issue and had several meetings with the Director Martin Green and with the UK government and any suggestion to the contrary is unfounded.
“We are currently working constructively with the UK Government and the other devolved nations on plans for the festival.”
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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