Council busybodies are going after the England flag

Trust local councils to try to suck the fun out of the World Cup for everyone. Oxfordshire and Bristol are trying to ban residents from flying the England flag on council property – again.

Oxfordshire County Council is taking the current outbreak of flag-flying patriotism very seriously. So much so that, next week, it is taking the matter to the High Court – where, if its application for an injunction is successful, it will obtain the power to prosecute citizens who attach flags to public lampposts for contempt of court. The punishments for successful prosecutions will be either two years in prison or an ‘unlimited fine’.

The council has framed its attempt to ban the St George’s Cross as necessary to ‘protect communities’. It claims, in part, that flags ‘on or near’ highways are a public-safety issue, which ‘breaches the council’s legal duties as highway authority’. But Oxfordshire council leader, Tim Bearder of the Liberal Democrats, has let slip what the council really means when it talks of ‘protecting communities’.

‘We are proud of Oxfordshire’s diverse communities and of our Council of Sanctuary status’, Bearder said in a statement. ‘[Flag flying] is not about national pride or unity. It is unlawful behaviour, which has caused fear and division within our communities.’ Basically, Beader is implying that flying the England or even a Union flag is racist because it intimidates immigrants or ethnic minorities.

It seems that displays of patriotic ‘activity’ have been bothering Oxfordshire councillors for some time. In April, its former Lib Dem leader, Liz Leffman, described flying the England flag as an ‘act of intimidation’, which had left residents feeling ‘distressed, unwelcome and unsafe in their own communities’. Back then, Leffman promised that the council would not hesitate to take ‘further legal steps where necessary to protect residents and support the cohesion of our communities’. Now it seems those legal steps are being taken just in time for the World Cup.

In Bristol, council authorities have narrowed their focus to one particular row of 80-odd houses and its lampposts. Torrington Avenue has been described as England’s most patriotic street because of its residents’ enthusiastic support for the Three Lions during international football tournaments. Not anymore – if Bristol City Council leader, the Green Party’s Tony Dyer, gets his way.

‘We are currently taking down flags in sensitive locations as a priority’, Dyer has said. ‘[The council] will be reviewing our strategy for removing other flags on our property.’ The rationale for the clampdown was provided in a council statement. It said it wanted to ‘ensure that Bristol remains welcoming, respectful and safe for everyone during the tournament’.

Dyer, it seems, has had a troubled relationship with the England flag for some time. In August last year, at the height of the ‘Raise the Colours’ campaign, he penned a lengthy blog on the ‘conflicting’ subject. He admitted that he has felt ‘pleasure [at] attending flag-raising ceremonies’, yet the ‘sad fact’ remained that the Cross of St George (‘himself… a migrant from what is now Turkey’) had been used to ‘represent anti-migrant campaigns of misinformation and hate’. ‘[T]here’s a balance to be struck’, he mused.

Unsurprisingly, this ‘balance’ goes out the window when it comes to flags representing ‘progressive’ causes. The Palestinian flag was hoisted above Bristol’s City Hall in September to mark the Labour government’s recognition of a Palestinian state. Oxfordshire did the same thing in December to mark the arrival of a visiting mayor from the West Bank. Bristol has even spent money on decking out its street sweepers and dump trucks with the Progress Pride flag. So neither council has a problem using public property to celebrate a political cause, but it does have a problem with people celebrating their own country.

It seems these right-on killjoys can’t even give it rest during a World Cup. They consistently treat large swathes of local residents, especially working-class, football supporting ones, as ignorant, xenophobic bigots. So much so that they see even an innocuous display of patriotism during a football tournament as a threat to minorities.

Beneath all the high-minded rhetoric, and bogus concerns about public safety, lies a deep contempt for ordinary people.

Hugo Timms is a staff writer at spiked.