Labour MP demands Union flags are taken down as ‘people feel uneasy’ | Politics | News
A Labor MP has called for British flags in his constituency to be taken down because they “make people uneasy”. Jeevun Sandher, in the video he shared with “Look, I love our flag,” he said. “I see flags flying proudly on flagpoles, on public buildings, I see it when the English football team is playing… But here I am, with flags flying on every lamppost.
“They get a bit tatty, the cable ties come loose. They can blow away in the wind. Then I see flags painted on roundabouts and it’s a bit strange. And you know, because you’ve seen it online and I see it in my inbox. It makes people nervous. They ask: ‘What message are these flags supposed to send?'” The Loughborough and Shepshed MP added: Flag removal campaign was exclusionary and described it as “not the British way”.
Operation Raise the Colors grew into a nationwide campaign over the summer; British flags have been raised across the country amid a heated public debate about nationhood and immigration.
The flags were voted down by a number of councils, including Tower Hamlets in London and Birmingham, with officials citing security and legal concerns.
In September, Leicestershire County Council said flags would only be removed if they posed a danger to the public, but urged residents to avoid painting on roads.
In a statement last month, a spokesman said: “Whilst it is actually an offense to attach anything to streetlights without permission, highways crews will only intervene if flags attached to lampposts or other street furniture pose a serious safety risk.
“However, people are asked not to paint or graffiti mini-roundabouts and crossings, which is illegal.”
In a letter to the council last week, Mr Sandher said: “Displays of national pride have their rightful place, but lampposts are not that place. “Flags hung in the dead of night and tied to every lamppost do not feel like a celebration of community spirit.
“For many, these feel like a statement about who belongs and who doesn’t. The uneasiness of our British brothers and sisters should make us all stop and think.”
Council leader Dan Harrison said in an earlier statement: “It’s great to see people being patriotic. While flags are a welcome sight, flying them needs to be done safely. I’m proud of our communities, our heritage and our country, and I’m keen to explore how we can celebrate this in Leicestershire.”
