Thousands of Flags appear across UK Towns and Cities
The Union Jack flying high in Kearsley, Bolton.
UK and St George’s Flags have been appearing all over Towns and Cities across the United Kingdom.
Since that victorious day for the Lionesses, Union Jacks and St George’s flags have been appearing to celebrate their success. There has been, however, a significant increase in the amount of flags being put up in recent weeks towards the end of August. What was once a celebration, has since been turned into something much bigger.
The movement, which has seemed to start in suburbs of Weoley Castle and Northfield in Birmingham, has supposedly been claimed by activist group Weoley Warriors. In a statement, they have said that they are ‘a group of proud English men with a common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements’.
The Union Jack and St George’s Cross on The Lancastrian Hall, Swinton.
So far, the group has raised over £20,000 with all the money raised funding flags, poles and cable ties to carry on with their movement. They say they’re doing this to give ‘hope to local communities that all isn’t lost and they are not alone’.
This has caused complications for local councils as questions have been raised over safety, criminal damage and whether or not they should be kept up.
Flag Force UK is another group that has been set up to track flag postings across the UK. In a statement, they have said that they’re ‘a community driven platform’ and ‘provide a space for flag enthusiasts to document, share, and discover flag sightings across the UK and Ireland’. Their overall mission is to ‘reclaim our flags and symbols and use them as a force to do good’, similar to the mission of the Weoley Warriors.
Since this has emerged in Birmingham, many other Towns and Cities have also followed suit, Salford, Greater Manchester being one of them.
Overnight, flags have been put up on every other lamppost outside the Town Hall and on the no longer used Lancastrian Hall building.
The Union Jack flying high outside The Lancastrian Hall, Swinton
Patricia, who lives in Trafford, has told me that she doesn’t mind flags being put up as long as it has been done in a patriotic way and doesn’t involve them being painted on council property, like roundabouts for example.
Craig, from Salford, has also said that he agrees with more National Flags being raised.
Like a few other councils, Salford City Council has committed to not taking down any flags, unless an offence has been committed to put them there.
A spokesperson for Salford City Council said:
“Salford City Council proudly flies the Union Flag at our Civic Centre at all times. Both the Union Flag and the St George’s Flag are recognised as legitimate symbols of our shared national heritage, and we fully support residents who choose to express their national and civic pride in a responsible and appropriate manner.
“Accordingly, the Council will not be removing flags that have recently been displayed, except in cases where they present a safety risk or constitute an offence, such as criminal damage.”
St George’s Cross flying in Salford.
National flags have also been seen in other boroughs in Greater Manchester such as Bolton and the City Centre.
The Government has recently released guidance on flying flags in the UK which they have named ‘Flying flags: a plain English guide’. It says that ‘The government wants to see more flags flown, particularly the Union Flag, the flag of the United Kingdom. It is a symbol of national unity and pride’.
More information about flying flags in the UK can be found here.
