Vote for the Staffordshire County Flag

The Flag Institute has received two applications for the County Flag for Staffordshire, one from Staffordshire County Council and the other from the Staffordshire Heritage Group, an umbrella organisation for all the local history, genealogy and archaeology groups within Staffordshire.

The Staffordshire Heritage Group promote, maintain, and encourage good practice, research, preservation of records and collaboration with other interested bodies in connection with local history, genealogy and archaeology.

Having received applications which both meet the Institute’s design guidelines, the Flag Institute has decided that the only fair way to choose between them is to give the people of Staffordshire an opportunity to vote for the county flag of their preference.

County Flags are based on the historic counties of the UK, rather than the modern administrative areas.

The Staffordshire County Council’s design is based on their coat-of-arms, and is gold with a red chevron that bears the Stafford Knot at the top, and along the top edge of the flag a blue band with a gold lion on it.

Staffordshire County Council administer less than 40% of the total population of Staffordshire, excluding some of the county's most major towns and cities, including Stoke-on-Trent, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton.

The Staffordshire Heritage Group consider the County Council’s proposal, complete with lion, to have the wrong emphasis; the lion has never been associated as the symbol of the Staffordshire people, put simply it represents the authority of government.

Staffordshire Heritage Group's proposal for the Staffordshire County Flag

The Staffordshire Heritage Group’s alternative design (shown above) is similar, but omits the blue bar and lion in order to make the chevron and Stafford Knot larger and more prominent. The simple, bold and ancient Stafford knot-on-Chevron design is historic and can be traced back to at least the early 17th century.

The vote opened at 9am today, 29th February, and closes at 9am on Sunday 27th March 2016. The result will be announced the next day, in plenty of time for perparations for the first Staffordshire Day on 1st May 2016.

You can vote by going to the Flag Institute’s website and clicking on the 'Vote' button.

Only people who live or work in the historic county of Staffordshire are entitled to vote in the selection process.

To promote their proposal featuring a simple historic design Margaret George, Staffordshire Heritage Group Chair, accompanied by members such as Stafford Burgesses, has arranged a press release with the 3 main local newspapers for tomorrow (Tuesday 1st March) outside St Mary's church, Stafford at 3.30pm.

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