Across towns and cities in England, a wave of flag displays has swept through the summer months of 2025, igniting both pride and controversy. From the Union Jack fluttering above council buildings to the St George’s cross draped over lamp-posts and painted on roundabouts, the sight of flags has become a flashpoint for debates about patriotism, public safety, and political symbolism.
In Hoyland, Barnsley, the weekend before September 3rd saw the removal of Union Jack and St George’s flags from West Street—an act that reportedly resulted in damage to the fabric of the flags themselves. According to BBC, red crosses painted on roundabouts were also covered over in the aftermath, as local authorities responded to concerns about safety and vandalism. Sir Steve Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council, addressed the issue directly on September 3, stating, “Regardless of how much we might love our flags, criminal damage and graffiti are not acceptable in any circumstances.” He emphasized that while he was “proud to be British and proud to be English,” there were clear boundaries: “Painting flags on the highway or hanging them from highway structures is dangerous, not just to the people doing it, but also for others passing by while they’re doing it. It then presents an ongoing health and safety risk to motorists and pedestrians.”
Houghton’s message was unequivocal: “If people want to fly flags on their own property, that’s absolutely fine and up to them, but the use of the road network, council lamp-posts or other public property is not acceptable and these will be removed.” The council’s stance reflects a growing concern among local authorities that the proliferation of flag displays—especially when attached to public infrastructure—poses real risks. As the Lionesses’ Euros campaign gathered momentum in July, the number of St George’s flags visible in public spaces soared, with suburbs such as Weoley Castle and Northfield in Birmingham festooned in red and white.
Much of this activity has been coordinated by groups like the Weoley Warriors, who describe themselves as “a group of proud Englishmen with a common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements.” But the widespread use of both the St George’s cross and the Union Jack—symbols that have at times been adopted by far-right movements—has left some residents uneasy. According to BBC, this unease is not limited to Birmingham; as flags began to appear on lamp-posts across the country, similar debates flared in towns from Bromsgrove and Worcester to Bradford, Newcastle, and Norwich.
In Birmingham, the city council issued a pointed safety plea on August 15, urging residents to refrain from attaching flags to lamp-posts and other street furniture. The reason? Ongoing maintenance work to upgrade streetlights to energy-efficient LED lighting. “People who attach unauthorised items to lamp-posts could be putting their lives and those of motorists and pedestrians at risk,” a spokesperson explained. Since the start of 2025, the council has removed approximately 200 banners and flags from the city’s streets. Despite these warnings, many residents questioned the council’s motives on social media, with some asking why a handful of Palestinian flags flown from lamp-posts had not been similarly removed. The city council later clarified that no England flags had been taken down during August, but confusion and suspicion lingered.
The movement to display flags has been galvanized by a campaign dubbed Operation Raise the Colours, which has seen people using cherry pickers and ladders to hoist banners as high as possible. Joseph Moulton of York, co-founder of Flag Force UK, said the campaign’s aim is to “get the country to unify under one flag.” The movement has attracted significant support—over £20,000 has been raised to fund flag displays around Birmingham, and more than 4,000 people have signed a petition urging the local authority to stop removing them.
Yet the campaign’s methods have not been without controversy. As hundreds of flags appeared, red crosses were painted on roundabouts in Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire, and Worcestershire. Videos circulated of individuals painting these symbols in broad daylight, sometimes in full view of police officers. West Mercia Police confirmed that they had launched a criminal damage investigation into the painting of traffic islands, while West Midlands Police were also looking into the matter. The debate over where and how flags should be displayed has, in some cases, become a matter for law enforcement.
Elsewhere, in Tower Hamlets, London, council workers were photographed removing flags, sparking outrage among some community members. The suggestion that flags would be taken down triggered anger and led to more displays popping up overnight in other towns. The phenomenon, fueled by social media, has taken on a life of its own, with the name Operation Raise the Colours now recognized across the country.
Not all flag displays have been met with controversy, however. On September 4, Karen Lewing, a Worcester City Councillor, praised an international flag display on Barbourne Road in Worcester. The array included flags of Samoa, Canada, Spain, Fiji, and England, and was believed to have been created for the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Lewing told BBC, “It’s celebrating something that’s a competition, a healthy competition between lots of countries around the world.” She added, “I think flags are a lovely thing, people love seeing them and they’re often about celebration.”
Yet even in Worcester, the presence of St George’s cross and Union Jack flags has caused concern among some residents. Lewing explained, “I’ve had emails and telephone calls from residents who are concerned. This includes local vicars and people in local churches who say people are coming to them because they are concerned.” She acknowledged that the UK is in a “highly politically charged time... with everything that is going on with asylum hotels.” For some, the flag’s use in political contexts risks alienating those who “love their country and love where they live” for apolitical reasons.
The debate over flag displays in England is as much about identity as it is about safety or legality. For many, the flag is a symbol of unity, pride, and community spirit. For others, especially in a time of heightened political tensions, it can also represent exclusion or divisiveness. The fact that over £20,000 has been raised to support flag campaigns, and thousands have petitioned against council removals, shows just how deeply people care about these symbols.
As the summer of 2025 draws to a close, the flags may come down or be replaced by others, but the questions they raise—about who gets to define patriotism, how public spaces should be used, and what it means to belong—remain as vivid as ever.
