These are the flag options for the Union of the Isles.

These are the flag options for the Union of the Isles.

That's the confederal replacement for the UK I've been setting out this week, with Ireland entering as a founding equal.

People treat flags as the decoration on a constitutional proposal. They're not. They're the thing that converts the idea. You can get the fiscal and governances formulas exactly right and still lose the whole argument on an emblem. It's emotive.

So, the thinking.

No colour belongs to a nation. One stripe each is too literal, and it starts the very argument it's meant to end. Why is ours the narrowest? Why is theirs in the middle? Why did we get that one? The current Union Flag doesn't work that way either. It's a combination you can find yourself in, not territory divided up.

The rule instead: every colour in every flag of these islands appears. That's five. Red, white, blue, green, gold. England sees red and white. Scotland blue and white. Wales green, white and red. Ireland green, white and orange. The Ulster banner red, white and gold. Nobody is missing. Nobody owns a band.

The first design is a new dawn. Four rays of light breaking across the sky from a rising sun. The geometry is set so each ray takes exactly a quarter of the field, with boundaries on the midpoint of the top edge, the corner, and the midpoint of the fly. You can check it with a ruler. In a union of four equals, that's worth more than any explanation I could write.

The second is simpler and more traditional. Four bands, one gold disc, sitting on the seam where the middle two meet.

The rest follows the same principle. Nothing anyone already has is taken away.

And one change in my proposal since Tuesday following feedback and further thought. EU membership is now part of the plan rather than a question parked for later. Four nations taking four different paths on Europe would reopen every problem the Union exists to close: the currency, the customs frontier, the Irish border. Settle it once, together, or don't bother.

Support is there. Around 55% across Britain, higher in Scotland and Wales, thinner in parts of England. The reservations are real too, mostly currency and free movement.

Which is why a timely development is interesting. 16 September 2026, von der Leyen proposed opening the door for Canada to become the EU's first associate member. A brand new status, details still to be written. If full membership can't be had on day one, the Union of the Isles should be second in that queue.

One condition. It only works if associate membership carries the customs union and the single market for goods. Without those, a customs border returns to the island of Ireland.

This is a moment for boldness rather than clinging on. There's plenty in the past worth leaving there.

But back to the flag. Which do you prefer? Or submit your own design and see what others make of it.