Only socialists in the UK could think our national flags are embarrassing symbols we should not fly in public. I am heartened to see the cross of St George appearing much more often. To me it is a symbol of England that resonates with our virtues. Slow to anger, firm in the defence of freedom, generous to those in adversity, critical of the pompous and damning of the stupidity of some officialdom. The English lion lies down in a friendly way. It takes much to arouse but can be fierce if our values of tolerance,freedom and fair play are abused excessively.
Patriotism is at its best a benign virtue. We can be proud of our own country without running down others. We can enjoy our culture and viewpoint without being hostile to different foreign ways. We can fly our flags proudly as a statement that we want to live here, we value our past and our traditions, and we wish to draw on the best of our inheritance, landscape and institutions.
As a generous country we will help those in need and at risk. That does not extend to those who break the law or who abuse our hospitality. As a law abiding country we want to trust the authorities, but we expect them to keep us safe and look after our interests first.
I get a lift when I see our flags fly high. Anyone in public authority who is ashamed, angry or wants to take them down misjudges why people put them up. Why cannot they see what we see in the history, achievements and way of life of the English? Why do they think so many people want to come here? Many are fed up with local and national government doing us down and sending us the bill.
August 30, 2025
Not just socialists but woke obsessed, PC LibDems
August 30, 2025
Indeed LibDems (alas so many of these are still in the Tory Party. Theresa May was even elevated to the Lords recently under Kemi. I see Sir Ed Davey is to boycott Donald Trump’s state dinner with King Charles in a foolish Gaza protest. But Lammy and Two Tier will I assume attend despite their past foolish and ignorant abuse of Trump. I trust the appalling Mayor of London will not be invited.
The Times the other day had and appalling pro-vaccine leader. Can their Leader writers not see that we should be in favour of vaccines (and indeed medical treatments) in general that do more good than harm and not ones that do more harm than good. We have good vaccine and bad vaccines
They leader say “The Conspitacy-Driven decline in vaccination rate poses a grave threat to health” and even “The case for vaccines was dramatically proven by their effectiveness in halting the global spead of Covid 19”.
They clearly have not look at the statistics of live births in the Czech Republic by vaccine status 1/3 down or the 18 million people in Japan (the more vaccines you took the more likely you were to catch Covid and sig, more likely to die). The pushing of these net harm ineffective vaccines is the reason for the reluctance to take other vaccines that do net good not any conpiracy. The experts and government have disredited themselves and the continued lying make this worse. The figure in the UK will be the same which I assume is why they are not releasing them broken down by vaccine status. If they were safe and effective realease the real statistics to show this!
Please bring back Lord Mogg Williams dad and Roland Butt types as leader writers. The Times has become a cross between the BBC and the Guardian!
August 30, 2025
Why would anyone want to read the Times nowadays? For the obituaries, perhaps? Nothing else, surely.
August 30, 2025
I remember enjoying “Put Out More Flags, Evelyn Waugh many moons ago perhaps I should read it again.
“Waugh somehow fuses the savage, deadly comedy of his earlier books with the ominous seriousness of his later ones.” it seems.
Perhaps I will listen to it instead, while collecting my cobnuts, blackberries, apples, victoria plums and damsons tomorrow. What a lovely time of year this is. I must order my annual grouse!
August 30, 2025
@David Peddy – me splitting hairs, the Liberal Democrats are of the left, they are Socialist, Labour through and through, they came about as a result of a break away faction from within Labour. The Liberals, the soft sandal brigade founded in 1859 expired in 1988. Which is why the suspicion is that now what remains of the so-called Tory Party having morphed in to full on ‘Liberals’ they are headed in the same direction.
Sorry Saturday sarcasm. I morn the passing of the Conservative Party and all it stood for, and when/if commons sense returns to the Nation I yearn for its return.
August 30, 2025
Flying the flag and protesting in large numbers achieve nothing.
Ballymena rapidly solved the illegal migrant problem. They are far more successful & experienced at protesting over there.
The nationalists made great strides too, once they got rid of the old southern leadership and put local men in charge.
Sadly Sinn Fein nowadays are worse than useless with illegals.
August 30, 2025
Millions are ‘coming here’ NOT because they share our values and admire our country, and are fleeing untold horrors. The reverse.
Trump is reviewing the right of all 55 million who entered the USA under Biden, to decide whether they go or stay.
All over Europe immigrants who have been granted ‘citizenship’ are being stripped of that right and deported because of their obvious failure to embrace their new country.
I love the wonderful pictures posted of endless rows of flags going up across the nation. I’m delighted that the Welsh, Scots and Irish are joining in and we are seeing the British asserting who they are and claiming these islands. It’s like Brexit Referendum night all over again.
Perhaps our greatest moment lies ahead! The little Scottish girl prepared to fight to defend herself and her friend has become an emblem, she shames the British authorities – those flagless, snivelling, detestable wimps scorned across the world.
August 30, 2025
It’s good to see the left (word changed ed) frothing at the mouth when British patriotism is mentioned.
Yesterdays judgement was a class piece from the blob, Pixie telling them world that in Britain illegal entrants rights Trump the indigenous population.
Wr knew labour worked forva foreign powers and now they’ve admitted it.
Let the flag of St. George fly high as a warning to these treacherous gits that we are down but not out.
August 30, 2025
I think those Home Office Lawyers and the lefty activist judges have just dug the Labour Party’s grave.
August 30, 2025
Agreed, Donna. In my view the whole business this summer has been the people versus the government. Look at Lucy Connolly’s original tweet. What’s been overlooked is that she also said that whatever was done to illegal immigrants, could be done to politicians in the government for all she cared. Look at the demonstrators chanting “Starmer is a w***er”. Starmer’s government doesn’t care about the British people, and I don’t think it cares very much about migrants either. It just cares about itself. The Appeal court ruling didn’t so much as say migrant rights trump British people’s rights, it said the government’s administrative convenience trumps British people’s rights. This is what you get when an Appeal court ruling is handed down by a law lord who has been a Labour party member for over 20 years, and has been chair of the Labour lawyers society: complete interlocking of the judiciary and the state.
August 30, 2025
The banner might have read ‘Starmer supports treason’ – much more accurate and honest.
August 30, 2025
God I hope so.
August 30, 2025
I very much hope so, Donna!
August 30, 2025
We’re now seeing how having a PM who was a director of the CPS has led to an ending of the separation of powers between the ligislature and the judiciary. Especially when the judiciary have become political activists.
August 30, 2025
@Ian Wragg – if only Human Rights meant all Humans and not one sector is more equal than any other
August 30, 2025
It is a symbol of our Nation and a rallying call for its defence. It is needed now.
I don’t call myself British, when asked; I am English. The cross of St. George is my flag.
If you don’t like our National Flag and its meaning, please leave, we’re better off without you.
I am distressed for the good people of Epping, if our courts don’t see the need to put the safety of our citizens above those of foreigners then we are indeed in grave danger from our public servants.
August 30, 2025
PW
Me to, when people ask what nationality are you I say English not British because the word British is given away far to often to foreigners , and I also think King Charles should step up to the plate unless he his blinkered to what’s happening to his beloved Kingdom and insist that Starmer puts the question to the people if they want a General Election Now before the country that the King grew up with under the protection and guidance of his Mother is totally destroyed by this reckless government
August 30, 2025
I’m Scottish but living many decades in England, English wife and family. England has been good to me.
I love to see the flags and bunting in celebration of this country, a country to be proud of for countless reasons, reasons which appeal to the heart as much as to the mind.
Long may the Union flag fly above the streets and gardens of England, accompanied by the red cross of St. George. I am disgusted by the phoney attempts by the left and the BBC to smear the national flag and disparage the patriots who stand by it.
Kipling had a wonderful talent for expression of that fine and admirable pride in nationhood and of the kind of people to whom we must turn when we need to protect and sustain it.
August 30, 2025
They’re not flagless – they love the Hamas flag and that multi-coloured one!!
August 30, 2025
LA : “Millions are ‘coming here’ NOT because they share our values and admire our country, and are fleeing untold horrors. The reverse.”
Yes, having seen how different religions/cultures have worked in Northern Ireland they;ve ecided to repeat in England but multiplied many times over.
August 30, 2025
John Redwood, you’re quite right about everything but please be aware that there are many among us who live in England but hate us. Why are these people given hospitality and freedom? Don’t we know they hate us?
August 30, 2025
what is the test to decide who hates us? Taking advantage of by making us into fools might be more simple.
August 30, 2025
I have always thought that cricket symbolised what it is to be British. It has been acknowledged by so many member countries of the Commonwealth, by playing the game,that in turn identifies them with elements of being British, whether they realise it or not. By elements I mean the rule of law and the identification of what is fair and acceptable in human behaviour. The flag, being national or union is historically symbolic. Once the rallying point in a battle, now the rallying point that is symbolic of British values.
It is denegrated by those who see British values as totally negative, relating such symbols to all those things we got wrong in our history, overlooking for the sake of their arguement, all the subsequent action we may have taken in correcting wrongs.
In my town both country and union flags flutter from many lamposts. Nobody can be specific as to why, be it a vote of thanks to our lady footballers or in acknowledgement of the end of WW2 in Japan. It does not matter. It is reassuring to see it as a symbol of our past and what we might aspire to be in the future.
August 30, 2025
Sadly, even with stump mics and umpires blessed with hearing, on the cricket field much abuse has become normal. In Australia sledging, legalised swearing and abuse is now expected directed at visiting teams.
Little is done here in England to stop the appalling behaviour.
August 30, 2025
The flags are being flown because of our PRESENT. A flag is a rallying point.
That’s why under the rainbow flag a particular flock congregates.
That’s why the flying of our flags has been discouraged.
Unless we acknowledge our tribe and protect it there will be no future, as Musk has said,
He and I grew up in fear, in a minority in someone else’s country on someone else’s continent. We both had to flee.
August 30, 2025
the posts by the parachute regiment on twitter the last few days on twitter have been excellent, whoever is posting their social media is clearly taking large personal risk. the country is in grave danger now, with openly political judiciary, incompetent ruling class, and such a massive gap with the decent majority. hopefully something will force an election soon.
August 30, 2025
Morning Sir John,
It is indeed great to see our Cross of Saint George and our Union Flag being flown. It must really upset the left who have for many years, managed to get a large number of the general public to believe it is a symbol of the political right and racists.
It was sad to discover last week that Bracknell Forest Council got a crew to go out at five in the morning to remove flags in Crowthorne.
I had to laugh last night at the local news when a senior police officer was interviewed about mini roundabouts have the Cross of Saint George painted on them and how this was an offence, namely criminal damage. I couldn’t help but think of the council’s “criminal damage” to California Crossroads and all the confusing marks on that junction.
August 30, 2025
Cliff
Indeed so many maple leafs on that junction you would think you were perhaps in Canada.
A twin mini roundabout with no centre circles, surrounded by concentric multicoloured maple leaf implants in the tarmac, with five pedestrian crossings around and through it, marked with large white maple leafs on it instead of the usual white lines. It is supposed to conform to highways legislation we are informed.
Only cost £5.5 million and took 9 months to construct !
Local businesses to the site lost about 50% of their turnover during that period, littler no compensation !
A simple/expensive example of all that is wrong with the way this country is governed, both locally and nationally.
August 30, 2025
BA,
To make an error is only human but, to really mess things up, takes a council.
August 30, 2025
or a politician (always an exception to every rule Sir John).
August 30, 2025
Having family members in Canada, we visit that country regularly and enjoy getting out of the city. As you drive around the countryside, every house (almost without exception) will be flying a Maple Leaf. We were visiting Canada Place (in Vancouver on Canada Day) a few years ago and there were dozens of newly arrived immigrants celebrating there. We chatted to one family (with maple leafed faced-painted children) who were very proud to have just become Canadian citizens. I often reflect on the differences in national and civic pride that I see between this country and Canada. I know which I prefer…
August 30, 2025
@Cliff. +1. It’s rotten to see Councils who spend their ratepayers’ money on putting up rainbow flags, spend those same ratepayers’ money to pull down our national flag.
August 30, 2025
+1
August 30, 2025
Agree – Scotland seems to get away with flying their flag without any political backlash
August 30, 2025
@Cliff.. Wokingham – yes the £5.5 million(California Cross) damage caused by the Left on the Council that is now a beacon to stupidity, and 2 tier Law. The Senior Police Officer you mention presumably is the same one as has to pick up the pieces from the dangerous situation caused at what is basically the other end of the same road – this Police Officer is confirming 2 Tier Law
August 30, 2025
Whilst true that ” Many are fed up with local and national government doing us down…” we should instead rejoice in the way that anyone who is given to know their true enemy should rejoice.
August 30, 2025
Yes, that is the starting point.
August 30, 2025
The Labour Party: the party that still closes its conferences with a rendition of ‘Keep The Red Flag Flying’.
I’m both a Briton and English but I think I’ll be flying the Union Flag more than St George’s.
August 30, 2025
I can’t agree. You know where you are with St George, the Union flag includes plenty who hate the English flag.
August 30, 2025
Yes, the flag of St George has a role but surely it is the National Flag of England and I am more inclined to fly the Union Jack as the national flag of the United Kingdom.
August 30, 2025
It’s wonderful to see the flags going up, some even daring to raise them in leafy Libdem suburbs. The pearl-clutchers will be horrified.
I’m getting some St George’s flags stickers for my car rear windscreen, to help spread the message. The more the merrier. St George has spread way beyond white van man, as a significant section of our society comes together in its mutual loathing of our leadership class.
I love the painting of mini roundabouts. However I have seen some very crude vandalistic painting of red crosses, which undermine the protest (I take the flag displays as protest against our authoritarian blob, its policies and actions). Someone had sprayed paint across signposts to our local villages, which just looked like awful graffiti. Perhaps it was flag-haters trying to discredit the protest…but possibly not.
August 30, 2025
Wanderer
The French farmers had a simple method of showing disgust at their Government, they simply turn the sign posts with the towns name on upside down, nothing destroyed, just unscrewed and repositioned upside down, a clear and obvious protest to all entering the Town.
August 30, 2025
Wanderer, excellent comment and I’m spurred to adopt your suggestion of car flag stickers.
Do please pardon the patriots who fail the renaissance test of fine art and refined judgement in gracing the mini roundabouts and buildings.
I’ve enjoyed the, “I’ve changed my mind” confession by a Tory grandee regarding the ECHR.
Of course he had to qualify it with a semi-retraction and talking of a ‘partial’ and ‘temporary’ withdrawal, almost any excuse to distinguish the belated awakening of the enlightened to what was so obvious to ‘extremists’ from early days, (excuse my mirth).
August 30, 2025
The reason perhaps that many people are against the nations flag here is that we perhaps do not see it often enough on all government, and local authority buildings, so it is alien to them.
Go abroad and they are proud to fly their National flag over the entrance to all such buildings, even a Marie in very small towns in France will have one flying.
August 30, 2025
Spot-on. It’s rare to see the Union flag flying on public buildings, even rarer to see the Cross of St George. It should be a requirement.
Though it would mean removing lots of Pride/Trans/Palestine/Ukraine flags first …..
August 30, 2025
In much of the USA it is expected that your home bears the flag – even if it is just planted on a lawn.
August 30, 2025
You capture my feelings exactly. Before the current flag fixing hit the media I was driving back from work through Northfields in Birmingham and saw the multitude of flags of StGeorge and the Union Jack attached to lampposts and thought there must just be some sort of local carnival about to take place the next weekend. Now I realise it represents a statement by ordinary people against the destruction being wrought by the elected elites.
August 30, 2025
To a degree it’s against something. But overall, I think people love flying the flag because they are FOR something! And what they are for is the country the grew up, the personalities and characters all around them, the culture, sport, nature, arts, history and so on. And what makes England unique too.
August 30, 2025
MPC : Indeed. It’s perhaps felt to be one of the very few voices available to, and from, the people to our so called elites, perhaps to be likened to signing a petition. I trust you did not feel unsettled or experience any feelings of discomfort from all those flags a-fluttering !
August 30, 2025
Councils which are happy to fly all manner of political flags and recolour street fixtures in the colours of whichever fad they are promoting now object to our national symbol.
Nothing reflects yesterday’s judgement and its attitude towards the indigenous more than this.
We are expected to consider others above our own. JD Vance had his hierarchy of care right.
August 30, 2025
Sir John
Correct.
The bit I find odd is the complaints about mini roundabouts being unsafe and a hazard. Yet as you well know have the bizarre California Cross(look it up) round-about that contradicts all the laws and regulation regards road signage and is more of a traffic hazard than all these St Georges crosses put together.
If any one ever wanted confirmation of the UK’s 2 Tier outlook, the ‘left'(I should say the broke Council forced residents to hand over) spent £5.5 million on creating a road hazard and that is OK. Someone splashes a small amount of red around and it is a major safety issue
August 30, 2025
I was reflecting a while back that the Union flag was a feature in much high street fashion, music videos, movies in the 1990’s and 2000’s. So why did that change? How can a people be proud to the point of donning references to their Union flag and then 15 years later be so critical of it? Of course we all know it is due to Socialism gaslighting a generation of youth and their parents! into believing the greatest country in the world with the best history, best culture and then hitherto the highest standards is a country to be ashamed of. That Socialist rot is slowly being eradicated as the same youth and parents are beginning to see how wrong it all was and that is due political leadership countering it. Profound gratitude goes to Trump and Farage for that.
August 30, 2025
Think England has a National Flag but is denied flying it. Try that in Scotland, Wales or even NI. England doesn’t even have a National Anthem. England isn’t even allowed its own Parliament, although it does get a Health and a Education ministers that are separate from GB or the UK.
Parliament trying to drum England out of the UK, Britain, suppress its people and destroy its identity is not only weird who do they think pays their bills?
The Lawyers the Taxpayer pays now say every ones Human Right is superior, to those of the majority of England and the UK, and we pay for this nonsense. We are not even permitted to be the equal
August 30, 2025
So …. the people of our Nation are using our National Flag as a protest against our National Government.
Oh the irony.
August 30, 2025
I also like to see the Union Jack flying. I say I’m English rather than British, but value the Union of the home nations. We rally to the flag when the country is under threat. It doesn’t matter whether the threat comes to England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland, we all face the foe. It’s a symbol that we have common opposition to the enemies of our country. It says we have unity in purpose and we help and support our fellow citizens.
Those who hate the flag should leave this country. The fact there is opposition to flying the Union Jack demonstrates a failure in integration and the scourge of anarchy.
August 30, 2025
GREAT article overall (although instead of ‘proud’ of country, I’d have written to LOVE one’s country).
To hate one’s flag is a bit malignant as well as neurotic – and boring.
August 30, 2025
as ever elon’s tweets are dominating British political debate, why are uk politicians so far behind?
August 30, 2025
I agree SJR!
I was really heartened this week to see the Union Flag flying over our Lib Dem Council civic offices! (Yes, I was shocked!).
Driving through Worcester Park yesterday there were ten Union flags flying on the street posts in the high street! A lovely sight!
I really cannot understand how a national flag can make people feel uncomfortable. It defies logic!
August 30, 2025
Beautifully expressed, Sir John, perfect in sentiment and inspiring to read and reflect on.
August 30, 2025
It is only the English and Union flags that seem to annoy people. No one seems to have any difficulty with the Saltire or the Welsh Dragon.
August 30, 2025
Hear ! Hear!
August 30, 2025
It’s good to see that the flag flying has flushed out the enemy state, which flysheet it’s favourite flags and paints zebra crossings with lefty and woke colours. A measure of the rot is shown when Essex Council offered it’s poor employees counselling in case they were upset at the sights of the national flags.
August 30, 2025
Flying the St George’s Flag or the Union Jack is inspiring and uplifting. It has also become a way of giving a V sign to this appalling government and local councils who take them down!
It says much about our education system that there are sour people in government, MPs, local councils and civil servants who object because they have no pride in the UK and its history.
Why are socialists and leftists so miserable, so lacking in pride, and so incapable of running the UK economy?
August 30, 2025
My family live in Copenhagen
I attended a birthday party recently and the table had rows of small Danish flags decorating it
Now I see in Uk a Council is offering counselling to those disturbed by seeing our flag
This is so wrong
August 30, 2025
The Media has announced a tremendous achievement of 3 brothers from ‘Scotland’ that have just completed rowing the 9000 Km across the Pacific. Fantastic we need more people like this.
Then in the comments section it was pointed out if they had been English, they would have been forced to call themselves British. It will be interesting when Miriam Payne and Jess Rowe arrive after doing the same journey
August 30, 2025
Not ordinary people. British people, extraordinary people!
August 30, 2025
It displays the utter frustration with the ways in which our collective GB identity has been denigrated but also a passive aggressive stance.
August 31, 2025
Good morning.
It is all very quaint flying flags, but unless this goes onto something more substantial for the ENGLISH, then it is all a bit of silly self-indulgence. A bit like banging pots and pans during the SCAMDEMIC.
August 31, 2025
I don’t object to flying flags per se but I strongly agree with Joan Baez’ complaint (in her book ‘And A Voice To Sing With’) about ‘allegiance to the nation state’ in taking ‘the chance location of one’s birthplace as the most serious event in the world’. Tribalism (beyond the family unit) of which nationalism is one manifestation and race and religion can be others is the most damaging and destructive force in human nature.
Moreover countries should exist (broadly) for the sake of people, people should not exist for the sake of their nation.
September 2, 2025
Complete rubbish. Your nation is your home. Presumably you would not complain if I broke into your home, drank your wine and ate your food and switched on your telly? If not, I’ll be round sometime next week.
September 5, 2025
The differences are first one chooses one’s home but is born into one’s nation and secondly having a home is beneficial but nations are divisive.
Interestingly Joan Baez (referred to above) whom most people, including myself think of as a leftist (though she herself disputes that description) has publicly said she is not a feminist because feminism is divisive between men and women and she is a person first and foremost. I agree with her on that too.
September 1, 2025
Britain is the only country in the world where one can be arrested and locked up for flying the national flag. It is similar to the state of Russia in 1917. Perhaps, in October Starmer’s Gang – Starmer himself being a Trotskyite and Reeves a communist – will celebrate The Russian Revolution of October 1917 by replacing the Union flag with the Red flag of the communist movement and ban all other political parties. Plenty of precedents in history and Starmer has form on cancelling elections.
September 1, 2025
I came back from holiday to see more flags than usual, I’d not been keeping up with the news I wanted a reset as it’s all so depressing. I thought it was rather nice and initially thought it was for a Royal event or football because flag flying has been limited to that in England, although when I go to Scotland I see many more flags everywhere. All along the promenade at one beach.
September 1, 2025
Doubtless Labour will continue to show their true colours at Conference when they link hands and sing “Keep the Red flag flying here!”
September 2, 2025
Legal immigrants are also happy to see our flags flying. I know one myself who is delighted to see them.