Rachel Maskell said the flags should be removed (Image: Getty / Flag Force UK)
A left-wing MP for York has demanded that the local Labour council u-turn and begin taking down flags from lamp posts, or risk the “break down” of society. Rachel Maskell, who was elected as a Labour MP before being suspended following the recent welfare cuts rebellion, issued the call after York became a focal point of the nationwide patriotic protest movement.
Ms Maskell said York Council should act to remove the flags, despite the local authority being one of the few Labour councils promising not to take down the vast bulk. She told YorkMix: “Over recent days, I have been inundated with messages from residents concerning the placement of flags and painting of the highways by members of the public.
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"While I believe members of all sections of the community must be heard concerning their perspective on different local and national issues, it must be within the confines of the law.
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Flags are still going up across England (Image: Getty)
“Placing flags on lampposts and painting infrastructure is not within the law. There is good reason for this. If laws are breached, societies can break down and we all ultimately lose.”
“I congratulate the council for engaging with those individuals who have been leading the campaign. That’s absolutely right thing to do.
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“But also we need to make sure that we can’t just attach signs and symbols to anything. I can’t put up my own signs and symbols without prior permission, nor can anyone else.
“It’s caused some issues around altercations in communities. We need to take that out of communities, and the simplest way is just saying we’re going to apply the law.”
Last week the Express revealed York Council was breaking from Birmingham and Tower Hamlets in allowing the vast majority of flags to remain up.
A spokesman told this paper: “We have no plans in place to remove flags that have been put up recently by members of the public. The one exception is on a short stretch of road beside York racecourse – and that’s because of a number of high-profile events this week.”
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The authority also welcomed that the group behind much of the recent ‘flagtivism’, Flag Force UK, had promised to also put donations towards litter picking and other actions to improve local communities.
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Responding to Ms Maskell’s call, Flag Force blasted: “A failed MP who isn’t even from York is now demanding the council take down our national flags.”
They also highlighted a speech delivered by Ms Maskell nine years ago calling for more refugees “until we reach saturation point”, adding: “what does it matter if we have to wait another week for a hospital visit or if our class sizes are slightly bigger”.
A fundraiser to put up flags across York has now hit over ￡15,000.
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