New polling shows how supporters of different political parties react at the displays of the union flag and St George’s cross
The mass display of England’s flag delights some Britons but worries others (Image: Getty Images)
Reform UK and Labour voters have radically different attitudes to the display of flags. When the public were asked about the display of union flags and the cross of St George – which have appeared on building and roundabouts during the summer – 87% of people who voted for Reform UK and 62% of those who backed the Tories said they liked this, compared with just 19% of Labour voters.
The polling commissioned by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft found 39% of people said they liked seeing the flags; 26% had mixed feelings and 28% did not like it. Just 17% of Liberal Democrat voters liked the display of these flags.
When asked to choose two reasons why they thought people were putting up flags, the two most popular were that they felt migrants seemed to “have more rights than British people” and were frustrated at the “failure to deal effectively with illegal immigration” (both 33%).
Twenty-eight per cent said people up flags because “they are racist and hostile to immigrants or foreigners”. But the same share said flags were put up because “they believe that levels of immigration are too high”.
Forty-five per cent of people who voted Labour or Liberal Democrat in the last general election thought people responsible for the displays were “racist and hostile” – but just 7% of Conservative voters and 2% of Reform UK voters. Almost as many (27%) thought the flags were put up because “they want to show they are patriotic and proud to be British”.
There is also a major age divide, Lord Ashcroft noted, saying that “fewer than half of 18-24 year-olds said they liked seeing them, compared to more than half of those aged 65 or over”.
The polling also uncovers deep pessimism about Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Budget. Nearly seven out of 10 (67%) think she will announce “higher taxes on people like me”. Sixty-two per cent are braced for “more borrowing and debt”, and 57% expect “cuts in public services.
The display of flags draws sharply different reactions (Image: Getty)
Nearly half (49%) anticipate cuts in welfare benefits and 42% say there will be “higher taxes for the rich”. Just 25% expect “more money for public services”.
In grim reading for the Chancellor, more than half (52%) say tax increases would be unjustified – with just 17% saying they would be justified. Opposition to tax increases is strongest among both Reform and Conservative voters but only 35% of those who backed Labour or the Lib Dems said increases would be unjustified.
