Has the St George’s flag been hijacked by the far right, or is it being unfairly restricted by councils responding to concerns about intimidation?
That question sits at the centre of a row after Oxfordshire County Council sought to ban England and Union Jack flags from being placed on lampposts, arguing they have caused “fear and division” among residents.
The council has issued legal notices and applied to the High Court for an injunction following complaints, reports of aggressive behaviour when flags are removed, and concerns about safety risks and obstruction of the highway.
Officials say the action targets unauthorised street fixtures, not private displays, and that the aim is to keep public spaces safe and inclusive.
Our readers were split. Some argued the flags have been associated with the far right and can feel intimidating in certain contexts, while others said they represent ordinary national pride and should not be restricted.
Several commenters suggested overuse has diluted their meaning, while others criticised councils for overreach and poor timing amid the World Cup.
Here’s what you had to say:
The far right have hijacked the flag of St George
The far right have hijacked the flag of St George and it’s not before time that this kind of action was taken. Their motives are clear and obvious, so let’s not pander to “political correctness” on this issue.
It is a very sad situation when the national flag of England, being flown en masse from lamp posts, is being used as a divisive and racist statement of intent.
There are times and places to “fly the flag”, such as in support of an English sports team or celebrating a historic event. Having them line streets permanently is in poor taste and only serves ulterior motives.
Lost pride
In the sixties and early seventies, this was not a problem.
Then, we were like normal countries, in that the Union flag was simply flown by decent, proud Brits.
Since then, it has been claimed by the BNP, the National Front and football yobs.
That’s how we have arrived at this ludicrous situation.
Flags lose significance when overused
In the past, the Union Jack and the England flags were flown on official buildings and people respected their significance.
Now, being flown on every lamp post and made into shirts, the flags look very common and lose their significance and importance. It has the reverse effect.
It’s just a flag
I cannot get my head around why anyone would be triggered by a piece of material flapping away on a pole some distance up.
Have we not got lives to get on with? So let us just do that.
Bad timing…
The council are not stopping people flying the St George’s flag. They are taking it down as and where it has been raised on lamp posts, etc. People can still fly whatever flags they like from their own dwellings. However, the council has chosen the wrong moment – at least until England get knocked out of the World Cup!
Fly your flag with pride
Imagine telling a Welsh man he couldn’t fly his nation’s flag! They are flown all over Wales, and I love seeing them!
I think it’s ridiculous that, as a Brit, I feel bad flying my flag all because some have hijacked it for their own purposes. They are the ones who need stricter laws.
My view is: be proud of your country and fly your own flag, especially at the moment when supporting our national teams at sporting events.
However, when British flags are flown inappropriately to intimidate, then that needs dealing with separately, as that’s not very British or patriotic in my view.
Shouldn’t a country be proud of its flag?
If people emigrate, they should accept the symbols of the country they come to. Here in Spain, the Spanish flag and the Andalusian flag are flown in many places all the time and are everywhere at times of celebration. We flew one when Rafa won Wimbledon!
Shouldn’t a country be proud of its flag?
Fly it with pride and allow it anywhere to defuse any suggestion that it is in any way a negative symbol.
Proper flag poles would look better
What the council should do is add flag poles throughout the council area and fly flags on them. I’m sure they wouldn’t even need to pay for this, as they could raise money to do it. These cheap flags put up (sometimes upside down in the case of the Union flag) with cable ties and string really don’t look good. But having properly installed and maintained ones would be a great idea, I think.
What is the evidence of intimidation?
The burden of proof is on the claim of intimidation. Flying a national flag is a common practice in most countries. If someone claims it is intended to intimidate, they need evidence of that intention beyond simply the presence of the flag. A national flag has multiple meanings. It can signify national identity, remembrance, patriotism and so on. It is not reasonable to assume the most negative interpretation when multiple benign interpretations are available.
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Countering the flag display
The paper patriots tried hanging their flags on our street. We just added another one – a St George’s flag saying “Keep the immigrants; deport the racists”. Straight away it changed the whole display because now every other flag looked like it was supporting that message.
The paper patriots took it down (so much for supposed free speech). We put another one up – same message. It took the paper patriots two days to take it down. We put a third one up. It stayed up a week and then the paper patriots took their own flags down. We left ours up with the message for a couple of days, then took it down and stored it away.
It goes back to Emily Thornberry
The flying of flags became an issue, to my mind, when Emily Thornberry put out a picture and a tweet during a by-election in Rochester in 2014 of a house with a white van and several England flags, with the clear intention of denigrating the owner. She subsequently resigned as a shadow minister, with her, and Labour in general, accused of being snobs.
People don’t like being denigrated, and so suddenly more and more flags appeared, as if to say, “f*** you, I’m going to do what I want”.
No other flag would be an issue
This is England and countless generations of our people have laid down their lives to protect our country. No leftist pen-pusher will ever stop the decent men and women of England flying our flag or proclaiming our pride in who we are as a people. We know that if any other flag known to man were being put up on lamp posts, the council would have no problem with it.
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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