Flying the Flag

It seems impossible to go very far these days without seeing numerous Union Jacks (or Union Flags if you prefer) and St George's Flags adorning lamp posts. Their recent popularity seems to stem from football fans wanting to show their support for the Lionesses during last year's Euros. Fair enough, you might think. Then they seemed to spread even further. Some people said that the flags showed pride in our national history, achievements and culture. However the flags have also been used as symbols of right-wing political movements and have appeared, for example, at demonstrations near hotels where asylum seekers are housed. Not everyone feels comfortable about this.

Some of us grew up in an era when the flags didn't have such connotations and it wasn't felt necessary to figuratively wrap yourself in the Union Jack to display your patriotic instincts. After all, we knew that this was the best country in the world and that we didn't have to wave flags around to prove it. [Irony alert here]. We could leave it to Johnny Foreigner to display the stars and stripes or tricolour or to swear allegiance to the flag. Nowadays things have changed and it seems impossible for any prime minister (Tory or Labour) to give a press conference without standing between at least two Union Jacks. Good or bad? You choose.

The flags have certainly been a divisive issue and round here they can be seen on the Burford and Asthall Barrow roundabouts as well as many other places. The BBC reports that Oxfordshire County Council has received over 200 complaints about them and has started removing them. However they also report that council officers have "encountered aggressive behaviour" while removing flags from lampposts.

OCC said its teams had "occasionally" experienced issues from a "small number of individuals" and that one Liberal Democrat councillor, who did not want to be named, said this had led to officers working in balaclavas at night to remove the flags out of a "fear of reprisal".

We have wondered how it is possible for so many flags to have appeared so quickly. They are mounted high up. Do they need a cherry picker to get up there? How can so many flags be put up around a single roundabout on a busy road without being noticed? If they are removed, will the patriots/perpetrators (choose your own term) simply replace them? Is there a law against doing this? If not, should there be? Is it objectionable or just a harmless piece of fun?

It doesn't sound as if this is going to go away quickly.