![\"Flags](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_escenic-44.jpg\")
Flags on West Street in Bedminster in September – inset Karin Smyth, Bristol South MP(Image: Bristol Post)<\/p>\n“The challenges facing our country will not be solved through division or grievance”Flags on West Street in Bedminster in September – inset Karin Smyth, Bristol South MP(Image: Bristol Post)<\/p>\n
South Bristol\u2019s MP has called on the people who have been put up scores of St George and Union Jack flags on lampposts across her constituency to keep them up for Remembrance Day next month, but take them down after that. Karin Smyth MP said she has been contacted by an \u2018increasing number\u2019 of people in South Bristol expressing concern about the flags, which had been \u2018unlawfully placed\u2019 on council-owned infrastructure<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a statement, the Labour<\/a> MP said she backed the flying of flags to celebrate or commemorate events – from England playing in the World Cup to Remembrance Day – but said the current proliferation of flags in the street on council property like lampposts were \u2018seen by many to be divisive and racist<\/a>\u2019, because those behind the campaign were \u2018seeking to exploit legitimate worries<\/a>\u2019 about issues.<\/p>\n South Bristol has seen some of the most controversy over the \u2018Raise the Colours\u2019 campaign<\/a> since it began in late August and early September. Residents in some areas have overwhelmingly backed those tying flags to lampposts, while residents of other areas – notably in Bedminster<\/a> – have countered with teddy bears tied to lampposts with messages of welcome and hope, posters celebrating the area\u2019s multi-cultural community<\/a>, or simply by taking the flags down again.<\/p>\n South Gloucestershire<\/a> Council has hired contractors to take flags down, sometimes in the middle of the night – the campaigners claim – after council leaders there issued a statement saying the flags were a divisive campaign<\/a>, but Bristol City Council<\/a> \u2019s policy has been to allow the flags to remain<\/a> and only take them down if they are a safety hazard or on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n Those putting up the flags are open about why they are doing it – citing anti-immigration, anti-Government and other far-right messages<\/a>. In West Street, which has been repeatedly targeted, police are investigating Islamophobic graffiti sprayed on a bus stop<\/a> soon after the third time flags were raised on lampposts there.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Keep them up, take them down – two petitions argue over Bristol’s flags<\/a>READ MORE: Flags that leave people ‘intimidated’ will be removed, says South Gloucestershire leaders<\/a><\/p>\n In Bedminster, police were called to a confrontation between local residents taking flags down and those who had put them up<\/a>, and Karin Smyth said she had been contacted by an \u2018increasing number\u2019 of people expressing concern.<\/p>\n Her solution was for the flags to stay up as part of a Remembrance Day commemoration – it is the 80th anniversary of Britain defeating fascism in World War Two this year – but to come down after that.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the past few weeks, I have been contacted by an increasing number of residents living in Bristol South expressing concern about the growing number of flags unlawfully placed on lamp posts and other council-owned infrastructure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that many residents display the Cross of St George or other national flags proudly at their home and have done so for many years. I am also sure that during next year’s men’s football World Cup finals we will see flags from a number of nations flying across the constituency, as they did during the recent women’s Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cCelebratory or commemorative displays of flags, which show support for one of our national (or local) sports teams, national events such as a royal wedding or for Remembrance Sunday bring us together,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n READ MORE: ‘I don’t want a divided community’ says pub landlord after England flags pulled down<\/a>READ MORE: All you need to know about the law around flags on lampposts in Bristol<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThere are those in Bristol seeking to exploit legitimate worries about housing, the cost of living and other issues by blaming those not in any way responsible. It is in this climate that the flags on lamp posts are seen by many to be divisive and racist.<\/p>\n \u201cI would therefore ask those who climbed up ladders to put the flags in place, to take them down following Tuesday Il November.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenges facing our country will not be solved through division or grievance. Communities in South Bristol, ignored by previous right-wing governments, are now getting genuine help to thrive. I want everyone in our city to have the same opportunities. People will have seen recent announcements on the cash coming to Hartcliffe<\/a>, the \u00a350m investment in Knowle<\/a>, new educational opportunities from the University of Bristol<\/a> and action on the cost of living<\/p>\n \u201cIt is by working together as a community that we can achieve great things, not by being divided,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“The challenges facing our country will not be solved through division or grievance”Flags on West Street in Bedminster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[33936,10139,381,3893,748,393,4884,14344,16656,528,285,4214,10002,10299,10298,16,15,25179],"class_list":{"0":"post-520199","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-ashton-gate","9":"tag-bedminster","10":"tag-bristol","11":"tag-bristol-city-council","12":"tag-britain","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-hartcliffe","16":"tag-knowle","17":"tag-labour-party","18":"tag-politics","19":"tag-rugby-world-cup","20":"tag-south-bristol","21":"tag-south-gloucestershire","22":"tag-st-george","23":"tag-uk","24":"tag-united-kingdom","25":"tag-university-of-bristol"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115419124700076633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520199","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=520199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_karinsmythjpeg.jpg\")
Bristol South MP Karin Smyth(Image: \u00a9House of Commons https:\/\/members.parliament.uk\/member\/4444\/portrait)<\/p>\n