Union flags in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets in London are being removed (Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
As I was taking our dog for an evening walk, I noticed that one of my neighbours has put up a flagpole in their front garden and is now proudly flying a Union Jack.
“Ahh that’s nice,” I thought to myself as the owner is obviously proud of his heritage and his country, as so many of us Brits are. Although at the moment, with the sorry Labour lot at the helm, I’m not sure how much there is to currently feel proud about.
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Defiance in England as sales of St George's flags go through the roof
This is why Britons are so angry about shameful councils banning our national flag
Man whose neighbour complained about Union flag now selling hoards of them
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Union and St George's flags being raised in angry protest after council took them down
GB News star brands patriots 'flag-waving losers' as furious British pride row erupts
Defiant English neighbourhood covers zebra crossings in St George's cross
Union Jacks and St George flags should unite us - let's show these shameful councils
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POLL: Is St George's flag intimidating and racist? Have your say
POLL: Should every town in England proudly fly more Union Jack and St George's flags?
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Andy Burnham is making me laugh my head off - can you guess why?
St George's flag is 'intimidating' and flown by people with 'unacceptable views'
Defiance in England as sales of St George's flags go through the roof
This is why Britons are so angry about shameful councils banning our national flag
Man whose neighbour complained about Union flag now selling hoards of them
GB News row erupts as 'petty' guest says St George's flag 'excludes everyone'
England flag row erupts as campaigners say St George's cross is 'cover for racism'
'I raised the British flag in major UK city - what the woke council did next shocked me'
Flag expert explains rules for flying a Union Jack or St George's Cross on your house
Strict rule for flying Union Jack and St George's Cross at same time
Thousands raised for guerrilla flag campaign as activists pledge to replace those removed
Lee Anderson loses it at council in furious flags row: 'Utter contempt!'
Union and St George's flags being raised in angry protest after council took them down
GB News star brands patriots 'flag-waving losers' as furious British pride row erupts
Defiant English neighbourhood covers zebra crossings in St George's cross
Union Jacks and St George flags should unite us - let's show these shameful councils
Reform-led council slams people painting England flags on zebra crossing
POLL: Is St George's flag intimidating and racist? Have your say
POLL: Should every town in England proudly fly more Union Jack and St George's flags?
All 12 Reform councils make bombshell flag pledge as protests erupt across England
Andy Burnham is making me laugh my head off - can you guess why?
St George's flag is 'intimidating' and flown by people with 'unacceptable views'
Defiance in England as sales of St George's flags go through the roof
This is why Britons are so angry about shameful councils banning our national flag
Man whose neighbour complained about Union flag now selling hoards of them
GB News row erupts as 'petty' guest says St George's flag 'excludes everyone'
England flag row erupts as campaigners say St George's cross is 'cover for racism'
'I raised the British flag in major UK city - what the woke council did next shocked me'
Flag expert explains rules for flying a Union Jack or St George's Cross on your house
Strict rule for flying Union Jack and St George's Cross at same time
Thousands raised for guerrilla flag campaign as activists pledge to replace those removed
Lee Anderson loses it at council in furious flags row: 'Utter contempt!'
Union and St George's flags being raised in angry protest after council took them down
GB News star brands patriots 'flag-waving losers' as furious British pride row erupts
Defiant English neighbourhood covers zebra crossings in St George's cross
Union Jacks and St George flags should unite us - let's show these shameful councils
Reform-led council slams people painting England flags on zebra crossing
POLL: Is St George's flag intimidating and racist? Have your say
POLL: Should every town in England proudly fly more Union Jack and St George's flags?
All 12 Reform councils make bombshell flag pledge as protests erupt across England
Andy Burnham is making me laugh my head off - can you guess why?
St George's flag is 'intimidating' and flown by people with 'unacceptable views'
This weekend, the ongoing frustration with those chosen to run things has only ramped up even further, as not one but two councils vowed to remove any Union flags attached to street lights as part of a patriotism campaign dubbed “Operation Raise the Colours.”
As a councillor myself, I know just how emotive the topic of flags can be for local authorities. Councils must tread a pretty fine line when it comes to seeming to support one cause over another.
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After the flags were raised on lampposts in Birmingham, its beleaguered Labour council released a statement saying that anyone doing so could be “putting their lives at risk” as well as the lives of motorists and pedestrians.
Now, don't shoot me for saying this, but whilst I think the overzealous concern about people falling to their deaths is a stretch…I do think council officers here do have a point about attachments to lampposts.
Taking the emotive subject of the Union flag out of the equation, if you allow one group of people to attach things to various bits of street furniture, where does it end? I know in my role as a councillor that things start to look pretty messy when officers are lax on various ads and flyers cropping up in public spaces. And during election time, there can be tensions about who has been allowed to post what and where.
But—and there is a huge but here—it seems that officers are now taking a two-tier approach to their enforcement efforts, just like the police, which, to be frank, is appalling. It's little wonder accusations of hypocrisy have erupted.
Because let's get real. The problem isn’t health and safety - though councils often hide behind that excuse. It’s just outright double standards.
According to some reports Tower Hamlets Council - the second local authority vowing to remove the flags - did in fact allow flags to be flown from various bits of council infrastructure as they turned a blind eye to Palestinian flags. Worth noting that the authority is run by the pro-Gaza Aspire Party.
DON'T MISS
Powered by
Flag expert explains rules for flying a Union Jack or St George's Cross on your house
Strict rule for flying Union Jack and St George's Cross at same time
Thousands raised for guerrilla flag campaign as activists pledge to replace those removed
Lee Anderson loses it at council in furious flags row: 'Utter contempt!'
Union and St George's flags being raised in angry protest after council took them down
GB News star brands patriots 'flag-waving losers' as furious British pride row erupts
Defiant English neighbourhood covers zebra crossings in St George's cross
Union Jacks and St George flags should unite us - let's show these shameful councils
Reform-led council slams people painting England flags on zebra crossing
POLL: Is St George's flag intimidating and racist? Have your say
POLL: Should every town in England proudly fly more Union Jack and St George's flags?
All 12 Reform councils make bombshell flag pledge as protests erupt across England
Andy Burnham is making me laugh my head off - can you guess why?
St George's flag is 'intimidating' and flown by people with 'unacceptable views'
Defiance in England as sales of St George's flags go through the roof
This is why Britons are so angry about shameful councils banning our national flag
Man whose neighbour complained about Union flag now selling hoards of them
GB News row erupts as 'petty' guest says St George's flag 'excludes everyone'
England flag row erupts as campaigners say St George's cross is 'cover for racism'
'I raised the British flag in major UK city - what the woke council did next shocked me'
Flag expert explains rules for flying a Union Jack or St George's Cross on your house
Strict rule for flying Union Jack and St George's Cross at same time
Thousands raised for guerrilla flag campaign as activists pledge to replace those removed
Lee Anderson loses it at council in furious flags row: 'Utter contempt!'
Union and St George's flags being raised in angry protest after council took them down
GB News star brands patriots 'flag-waving losers' as furious British pride row erupts
Defiant English neighbourhood covers zebra crossings in St George's cross
Union Jacks and St George flags should unite us - let's show these shameful councils
Reform-led council slams people painting England flags on zebra crossing
POLL: Is St George's flag intimidating and racist? Have your say
POLL: Should every town in England proudly fly more Union Jack and St George's flags?
All 12 Reform councils make bombshell flag pledge as protests erupt across England
Andy Burnham is making me laugh my head off - can you guess why?
St George's flag is 'intimidating' and flown by people with 'unacceptable views'
Defiance in England as sales of St George's flags go through the roof
This is why Britons are so angry about shameful councils banning our national flag
Man whose neighbour complained about Union flag now selling hoards of them
GB News row erupts as 'petty' guest says St George's flag 'excludes everyone'
England flag row erupts as campaigners say St George's cross is 'cover for racism'
'I raised the British flag in major UK city - what the woke council did next shocked me'
Flag expert explains rules for flying a Union Jack or St George's Cross on your house
Strict rule for flying Union Jack and St George's Cross at same time
Thousands raised for guerrilla flag campaign as activists pledge to replace those removed
Lee Anderson loses it at council in furious flags row: 'Utter contempt!'
Union and St George's flags being raised in angry protest after council took them down
GB News star brands patriots 'flag-waving losers' as furious British pride row erupts
Defiant English neighbourhood covers zebra crossings in St George's cross
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has called them out.
He told The Telegraph: “Tower Hamlets council have allowed Palestinian flags to be publicly displayed on lampposts but not the flag of our country. This absurd national self-loathing must end. This is yet more two-tier bias against the British people. We must be one country united under the Union flag.”
And end it must: from the ludicrous decision by a school to send a girl home wearing a Union Jack dress to the man banned from flying a Union Jack flag as it was in a communal garden. As a nation, we need to stop this ludicrous sensitivity around our own national pride and fly our flag as often and as proudly as we can - at schools, in parks, on streets and from every council and government building. It’s time to end the double standards and remind the bureaucrats who this country actually belongs to.
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