{"id":355277,"date":"2025-08-18T22:50:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T22:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/355277\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T22:50:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T22:50:15","slug":"council-says-brummies-proud-to-be-british-as-flag-debate-rumbles-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/355277\/","title":{"rendered":"Council says ‘Brummies proud to be British’ as flag debate rumbles on"},"content":{"rendered":"

The appearance of the flags in Birmingham has sparked a passionate debate in recent days\"FlagsFlags along Genners Lane and Bartley Reservoir in Birmingham(Image: Nick Wilkinson\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

Birmingham City Council has said Brummies are \u201cproud to be British\u201d after the local Conservatives waded into the ongoing flag debate.<\/p>\n

The Labour<\/a>-run council has issued a new statement this week after the Union Jack and St George\u2019s Cross were hung in neighbourhoods across the city, including Weoley Castle and Northfield<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many of the flags are attached to lampposts and other highway infrastructure, and some are spotted on major roads such as the A38 in south Birmingham<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham Council to pay out to ‘frustrated’ resident who hired skip amid missed bin collections<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The appearance of the flags has sparked a passionate debate, with those responsible describing it as a patriotic move to celebrate the country\u2019s history and achievements.<\/p>\n

But it has also sparked concern from others amid claims those responsible are politically motivated and seeking to stir up division within the city.<\/p>\n

Amid this tension, the Conservative<\/a> group at the council has now called on the Labour administration to focus on cutting down flyposting and \u201cnot our national flags\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there was a clear highway threat, with fly posting partially covering traffic lights, the Labour-run council felt that six months was an acceptable timescale for taking action,\u201d Tory councillor Robert Alden said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is clearly a ridiculous length of time.<\/p>\n

\"AA flag above a Birmingham residential street on August 18, 2025(Image: Leon Neal\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cYet when our national flag is flown in public spaces, something we should all be able to take pride in, Labour becomes desperate to rip it down as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cWe want to be crystal clear \u2013 it is absolutely unacceptable for the council to prioritise the removal of our national flag, in locations where it is not causing an immediate risk, over clearing flyposting, which is a blight on so many roads across the city \u2013 especially at traffic junctions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are calling on the council to commit to clearing all the flyposting in the city before they even think about touching a St George\u2019s Cross or Union Jack flag flying.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, a Birmingham City Council<\/a> spokesperson said the local authority \u2018proudly flies\u2019 the Union Flag outside the council house every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognise the importance of the Union Flag and Flag of St George as symbols of national pride,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Every banned activity on Birmingham’s city centre streets as PSPOs come into effect<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBrummies are proud to be British and proud that this is a welcoming city celebrating many different cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

They continued: \u201cWhen it comes to items attached to lamp posts, it is normal council procedure for these to be removed on a regular basis, in line with our health and safety obligations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs has always been the case, people are free to fly or hang flags from their homes or gardens, but we ask that they are not attached to street furniture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city council issued a statement last week about its ongoing work to upgrade street lighting in the city, which will involve taking down \u2018attachments\u2019 from lampposts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork is due to begin imminently, and lamp columns need to remain free from attachments so work can be carried out as quickly and safely as possible,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham City Council House(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)<\/p>\n

\u201cLampposts and other street furniture need to be protected which is why highways staff across the city removed around 200 advertising banners and flags that had been attached to lampposts since the start of this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey take down attachments from lampposts routinely, including advertising signs, bunting trails and flags.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council went on to say that people who attach unauthorised items to lampposts could be \u201cputting their lives and those of motorists and pedestrians at risk\u201d.<\/p>\n

The listed risks include falling debris, electrical hazards, obscured visibility and weakening of the lamppost.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re continuing to do this every week and would ask that staff doing this work be allowed to continue this work unhindered,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The appearance of the flags in Birmingham has sparked a passionate debate in recent daysFlags along Genners Lane…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,984,748,527,393,4884,528,9563,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-355277","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-city-council","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-conservative-party","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-labour-party","15":"tag-northfield","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115052218072200792","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}