‘Not a culture war’: the council that won its case over England flags on lampposts

Flags of St George flying at a busy junction in Oxford. The council also claimed in the high court that highway safety was an issue. Photograph: Martin Anderson/Alamy View image in fullscreen Flags of St George flying at a busy junction in Oxford. The council also claimed in the high court that highway safety was an issue. Photograph: Martin Anderson/Alamy ‘Not a culture war’: the council that won its case over England flags on lampposts Leader of local authority in Oxfordshire faces backlash over injunction ‘to maintain neutral, safe space for residents’ While Londoners scurried from building to building seeking shade on another baking hot day this week, one man paused in the shadow of the Royal Courts of Justice. The leader of Oxfordshire county council, Tim Bearder, was not only satisfied in the shade of the court’s gothic towers. He had just won a landmark legal victory. On the face of it, the case was an argument about local council permissions. But such is the febrile nature of British politics, the proceedings took on a whole new importance – one which strikes to the heart of raging debate in England over its most recognisable icon: the national flag. The court, one of the most important in England and Wales, had decided that hanging the English flag from lampposts without the council’s permission should not be allowed. Activists who have been hanging the flag of St George along roadsides in what has been a growing display of nationalist sentiment, were dismayed, accusing politicians such Bearder of “not liking the flag of their country”. Bearder, a public servant and proud Englishman, was delighted. “We’ve secured the first ever injunction [of its kind] in the country and this will serve as a blueprint for other councils wishing to stop this irresponsible behaviour,” he said. Tensions have been growing between the Raise the Colours group and the council since the former began its “nationwide campaign to cover Britain in flags” last summer. The phenomenon began in Birmingham, with flags of St George and union jacks appearing on lampposts, roads and roundabouts, before spreading across the west Midlands and beyond - from Worcester to Greater Manchester and Newcastle in the north. Raise The Colours states on its website that it is a grassroots movement that has “grown into a campaign to cover Britain in symbols of unity and patriotism”. Others have accused the group of spreading anti-immigration rhetoric and vigilantism – claims it has previously denied. View image in fullscreen Flags of St George and union jacks flying from lamposts in Birmingham. Photograph: Jacob King/PA Oxfordshire council became aware of the flags in the county in August last year, and initially decided against taking action in the hope the movement would eventually “blow over”, Bearder said. “We didn’t want to give them that fuel so we just took a very light touch approach.” As the campaign continued, however, that approach was no longer feasibleand the council decided