In recent weeks flags have been put up across the country on lamp posts and many can be seen in places like the Bristol Road in Frampton Cotterell. According to South Gloucestershire Council<\/a> the \u201cunauthorised display of flags\u201d is causing concern among many residents in the area<\/a>.<\/p>\n The protest was organised by Bristol Patriots, with a poster saying \u201cleave our national flags alone\u201d, \u201cstop the hate\u201d and \u201cstand up to racism\u201d. They played music from bands like the Clash, Madness, and songs with lyrics such as \u201cKeir Starmer is a w***er and we want our country back\u201d.<\/p>\n One protester, who lives in Chipping Sodbury but asked not to be named, said: \u201cIt\u2019s not a case of a movement being racist against migrants or anything like that. It\u2019s our national flag. All the migrants who come here and settle in this country and our culture, this flag represents them too. But for years they\u2019ve drummed it into us to say \u2018you can\u2019t fly your flag\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a nationwide thing to stand up against this tyrannical government. They come down on us like a dictatorship. I donated 30 flags for Chipping Sodbury. I thought what a better way for when we have the Remembrance Sunday parade, for our soldiers who lost their lives. The council said \u2018no, you can\u2019t have that, it\u2019s racist\u2019. We\u2019re not thugs trying to cause racial tension.<\/p>\n \u201cThis flag symbolises all the people who shed blood and gave their lives for our freedom. That goes back many, many years. This is my identity and who I am. Our country gave far more good to the world than what we did bad. We abolished slavery. I\u2019m sick and tired of being told we have to apologise for our nation. We\u2019re a great country, one of the best in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n English and British flags are often divisive, with some people saying the recent push to put up flags makes people with an immigration background feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. But the protesters in Yate denied they were racist, and said instead they were criticising poorly funded public services.<\/p>\n Some of the protesters were asking where the flags that are taken down end up. Some flags were paid for with a fundraiser at a local pub. A council spokesperson said people can collect flags with \u201cproof of ownership\u201d from their local police station. The most recently removed batch are at Chipping Sodbury police station, according to the council.<\/p>\n Sue Mills, another protester who lives in Yate, said: \u201cThey stopped my heating allowance last year and yet they put illegals up in hotels, feed them, clothe them, and keep them warm. They keep giving our money away to other countries, when we need it. The hospices need it, and veterans need it. We\u2019ve got veterans on the streets. Illegals shouldn\u2019t come before.<\/p>\n \u201cThe flag means I\u2019m celebrating my country. It\u2019s nothing to do with racism at all. It seems like we can celebrate everybody else\u2019s flags, but not our own, which ain\u2019t right. My mum and dad were in the army. If they were alive now, it wouldn\u2019t bear thinking about. Where I live there\u2019s a Welsh flag, and nobody takes that down. If it were an English flag, the council would take it down.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bristol Patriots group was set up earlier this year, as an offshoot of the Great British National Strike. The group recently organised a protest in Bristol too, which attracted hundreds of counter-protesters<\/a> concerned about the rising anti-immigration sentiment.<\/p>\n That protest proved far more rowdy, with police officers struggling to keep both groups apart. Counter-protesters accused the group of being far-right, racist and \u201cNazi scum\u201d. However there were no counter-protesters in Yate, on the edge of town.<\/p>\n One Bristol Patriots organiser, who asked not to be named, said: \u201cWe\u2019re trying to make people aware of this fake narrative of racism being pushed on us, driven by the left wing. We\u2019re not racist, we\u2019re out with many nationalities when we\u2019re hanging flags. We\u2019re annoyed with the hate towards us driven by the MPs, councils and Labour<\/a> Party. We see the media twisting things.<\/p>\n \u201cImmigration is absolutely fine. Our problem is with illegals coming over. Illegal immigration is the issue. We\u2019ve got so many people in this country struggling as it is. Why aren\u2019t we supporting British people first? We\u2019re all for supporting people from war-torn countries, people that need help, there\u2019s no issue with that. But there\u2019s veterans leaving the army with no support at all.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_BRI_PG_141025flag-164.jpg\")
Bristol Patriots protest outside South Gloucestershire Council buildings in Yate, Tuesday 14 October (Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach PLC)<\/p>\n