The Labour-run council is just the latest to demand the removal of St George’s and Union Jack flags after groups of people began putting them up around the country.
St George’s flags have appeared around Brighton. (Image: Getty)
A Labour-run council is the latest in the UK to demand that St George’s flags be pulled down from around a seaside city – but contractors carrying out the orders have reportedly come under fire from locals. Flags have already been taken down in London and Birmingham following an online campaign promoting patriotism that saw St George’s and Union Jacks raised across the country. So-called “Operation Raise the Colours” has also seen flags erected around Brighton, prompting the Labour-run local authority to call for their removal on the grounds of compliance with the 1980 Highway Act.
Contractors hired for the removal operation were forced to pause their work after being subjected to verbal abuse from residents, however, according to Independent councillor Bridget Fishleigh. She said: “Brighton and Hove City Council has advised that it has been making steady progress with the removal of the St George’s flags; however, some people have put up new ones.”
Brighton is the latest city to be swept up in Operation Raise the Colours (Image: Getty)
Cllr Fishleigh told The Argus: “The contractors have faced verbal abuse while attempting to remove flags in certain locations. As a result, they have had to cease work in those areas.
“The contractors are unwilling to proceed with further removals unless police are present to ensure the safety of their staff. Sussex Police has confirmed that it will not have the resources available to support this work until next week.”
Councils elsewhere in the UK have enforced the removal of English flags in recent weeks in the name of public safety – prompting campaigners to question why the issue was being prioritised above other pressing matters such as bin collection.
“My mixed recycling wheelie bin has been sitting on my lawn for six or seven months, unemptied,” said George Webb, who lives in Birmingham. “But a flag on a lamppost gets their urgent attention.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also accused councils of a “shameful” response to the campaign, accusing them of “fearing our shared national identity” and enforcing local rules on a “selective” basis.
“After years of politicisation by those who seek to diminish England’s culture and Christian heritage, it is encouraging to see English flags flown proudly as symbols of unity, nationhood and optimism,” she wrote in the Daily Mail.
“So, it is shameful that some councils have scrambled to remove them at the first opportunity, even in the lead-up to VJ Day, while leaving banners of other nations and political causes untouched.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s spokesperson said he was “absolutely” supportive of those erecting English flags and insisted that “patriotism will always be an important thing for him”.
It comes amid ongoing protests over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, with demonstrators waving St George’s flags outside migrant accommodation in the Midlands, Essex and London in recent weeks.
The Government announced plans for a fast-track asylum appeals process last week. The aim is to speed up the removal of people without a right to be in the UK and quell public fears about taxpayer costs and community safety.
Brighton and Hove City Council has been contacted for comment.
