Plaid MP Hywel Wiliams says he is incredulous nobody Welsh is featured on the inside pages of the new UK passport.
According to the Wasting Mule
The Home Office has faced a barrage of criticism after unveiling the designs of the inside pages of the new British passport, which is based around the concept of Creative United Kingdom .
Many have criticised the fact that images of only two women compared to seven men are featured.
But all nine of those people are English, meaning nobody from Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland has been represented. But, as well as Shakespeare whose image is a high-security watermark on each page the other people featured are all English. They include artist John Constable, architects Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and Elisabeth Scott and Angel of the North sculptor Antony Gormley.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
The theme of the new passport is a celebration of creativity in the United Kingdom throughout the past 500 years.
The UK is lucky to have had a huge number of influential and innovative cultural figures throughout history and narrowing it down to a final number was an extremely difficult decision.
It seems incredible that a year after a referendum campaign in Scotland that saw the the NO campaigners claiming that we were Better Together seems to largely ignore the existence of anyone seemed creative in Scotland. For we in Wales Dylan Thomas or any number of Welsh Poets writing in English or Welsh springs to mind.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh springs to mind
Indeed if the idea was to celebrate influential and inoventive cultural figuers then Iola Morganwg the man responsible for reviving the National Eisteddfod springs to mind
Apparently
There is some Welsh representation, with Cardiff Bay1 s iconic Pierhead building featured on the Brilliant Buildings pages.
At least they didn’t choose a Norman built Castle. Arfon MP Mr Williams blasted:
This was an opportunity to reflect and celebrate on the contribution of all UK nations.
I m incredulous that Wales will have no representation on new passports.
A passport is both a definer and a symbol of our identity. It is outrageous that this symbol contains nothing from Wales.
I will be contacting the Prime Minister s office directly to convey the astonishment that is sure to be shared by all passport-holders in Wales.
Instead of being recognised for their contribution, women have also been side-lined, the Government choosing instead to belittle their contribution by writing them out of the history books.
Which Welsh Figure would you nominate for inclusion on the New Passport and bearing in mind the poor representation of Women on it, nominations of Welsh Women icons would be welcome.
References
- ^ Cardiff Bay (www.walesonline.co.uk)
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