Overview

• An online push dubbed Operation Raise the Colours has seen St George’s Cross and Union flags appear on lampposts and public sites from Birmingham and east London to Sussex, County Durham, Staffordshire and Cumbria.
• Councils including Birmingham and Tower Hamlets have taken down flags from street furniture, with Birmingham Live reporting about 200 removed during lighting upgrades, while Cumberland issued guidance warning unapproved items on highways will be cleared.
• Road markings painted as St George’s crosses on crossings and mini‑roundabouts are being scrubbed under the Highways Act 1980, with a Reform‑led Staffordshire authority and Stoke‑on‑Trent City Council calling the practice illegal and unsafe.
• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called removals “shameful” and accused councils of selective enforcement, as Tory MP Robert Jenrick mounted flags in Newark in defiance of local permission rules.
• Downing Street said the Prime Minister supports people flying English flags, while some council leaders and anti‑racism groups warned the campaign is being used by far‑right actors, citing concerns voiced in Dorset and Lewes.