The reverse of the asylum protests \u2013 where protests involving so-called concerned families have been hijacked and whipped up by far-right groups \u2013 the proliferation of flags has spread beyond its far-right origins to a more mainstream showing of national pride for some.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
To understand more about where the flag flying phenomenon has spread, Big Issue spoke to Malcolm Farrow of The Flag Institute<\/a>, a group of enthusiasts coming together to act as the UK\u2019s national centre of expertise in flags and flag flying.\u00a0<\/p>\n Farrow\u2019s interview with Big Issue was his 27th of the week and his fellow experts in vexillology have been doing plenty too. Such is the public interest that the matter has garnered.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019s a big fan of the flag-raising frenzy and believes it can be a tool for unity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n \u201cFundamentally, I like it. I think it\u2019s great. I think it says that we, the people, have very definitely rediscovered and taken back our flags,\u201d said Farrow, who has been president of the group for more than two decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA flag is nothing more than a symbol. That\u2019s all it is. Humanity, ever since the dawn of time, we have needed symbols. One tribe would have, one on a pole. Another tribe would have something else to identify who they are and that\u2019s all a flag is. It identifies us as this nation, these people, and the great thing about them is we are now a very diverse nation.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow there is a need for a degree of nation building, bringing people together who are initially of different cultures and backgrounds. Having a symbol which you can go and hold the hand of your neighbour whose language you can\u2019t speak because they just arrived, and you can look up together and say: that is our symbol. That\u2019s yours as much as mine. We are equal under that symbol. That\u2019s a great common bond, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s a good start. I think they serve a profound cultural purpose.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n To treat flag-flying with some \u201crespect and dignity\u201d, it takes a little bit more than spray painting a red cross on a wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n Farrow said flags should be clean, in good repair and hoisted properly, like \u201cputting on a smart suit\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n It\u2019s not as simple as hoisting it and forgetting about it either. Flags need to be maintained to avoid getting tatty or dirty, they\u2019re a \u201cbit like puppies at Christmas\u201d, as Farrow put it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Council permission is usually required to put a flag up in a public place. There\u2019s been a mixed reception from local authorities across England.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, Tory Rob Waltham, the leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said roundabout paintings would be removed on the grounds of road safety. He added: \u201cFlying our national flags should never be something anyone feels shame in but nor must it be something that becomes divisive or which breaches the law.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Reform-led Worcestershire County Council reportedly instructed workers not to remove flags from lampposts or roundabouts, with council leader Joanne Monk telling the BBC<\/a>: \u201cI don\u2019t agree with the flags being associated purely with [the right wing]. That\u2019s the right-wing people that have done that \u2013 I am definitely not right wing, but I\u2019m definitely a patriot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In Derbyshire, there was a split. The Reform-led Derbyshire County Council\u2019s stance was that flags would only be removed if they posed a safety risk. The Labour-run Derby City Council urged the public not to paint on roundabouts.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not the first time that flags in Britain have been hijacked for unsavoury purposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n Farrow recalls the past association with the Union Jack and the National Front back in the Sixties and Seventies, arguing that flags were so seldom seen back then that it created a void for the far-right to exploit.\u00a0<\/p>\n The association with the St George\u2019s flag is more recent and carries a connection to sporting events \u2013 as the outpouring of patriotism around this summer\u2019s win for England at the Women\u2019s Euros showed \u2013 and the \u2018English disease\u2019 of football hooliganism.\u00a0<\/p>\n Paul Jackson, professor in the history of radicalism and extremism at the University of Northampton<\/a>, told Big Issue that the use of flags is by no means exclusive to the far-right but it is \u201ca part of their repertoire\u201d as evidenced by appearances from the British Union of Fascists to the English Defence League.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s quite an effective dog whistle as much as anything,\u201d said Jackson on the wave of flags currently appearing around England.<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose there\u2019s also a sense of to what extent do these really represent a widespread sentiment or are they quite a cheap and effective way for a small, very vocal minority to articulate certain things in an ambiguous manner with a degree of plausible deniability about what they\u2019re really trying to say with these sorts of gestures.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Farrow told Big Issue he does have concerns about the current phenomenon even if fluttering flags brighten his day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n He also has a novel perspective on how to overcome the sinister undertones: drown them out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI do understand a bit of the worry because there are still extremists out there and they did, in the past, hijack the flag and they go on using it,\u201d said Farrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut the way, I say, to put them in their place is if everybody else is using it, they\u2019re not going to be noticed because everybody\u2019s using it. It\u2019s the old phrase: use it or lose it. Well, we didn\u2019t use it in the past, and we sort of lost it. We are now using it so we\u2019re not going to lose it again. So in principle, I\u2019m in favour.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this?\u00a0Get in touch and tell us more<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reader-funded since 1991 \u2013 Big Issue brings you trustworthy journalism that drives real change.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1683-Flags_Drop_in.jpg\")
A roundabout at Epping on 24 August. Image: Guy Corbishley \/ Alamy<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Support-journalism-in-article-CTA.png\")
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