PROTESTERS staged a demonstration outside South Gloucestershire Council’s headquarters demanding that it reverse its policy of taking down flags from lamp posts.
About 30 people gathered outside the council offices in Badminton Road, Yate, in October, waving Union and St George flags, and put up posters criticising the government and Prime Minister.
Since August flags have been put up with zip ties on lamp posts in Kingswood and elsewhere as part of a national campaign. Red crosses have also been sprayed on road markings such as zebra crossings, and on speed limit signs.
Council leader Maggie Tyrrell and co-leader Ian Boulton issued a joint statement in September that some of the flags were being used in an “intimidating or divisive” way and would be removed to “protect public safety and support community cohesion”.
They also signed a joint letter, with other council leaders and police and crime commissioner Clare Moody, linking protests over flags to “racially aggravated” incidents in the region.
The October protest was organised by a group called Bristol Patriots.
One protester told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “All the migrants who come here and settle in this country and our culture, this flag represents them too. But for years they’ve drummed it into us to say ‘you can’t fly your flag’.
“It’s a nationwide thing to stand up against this tyrannical government. They come down on us like a dictatorship..”
The Bristol Patriots group was set up earlier this year, as an offshoot of a national online campaign called the Great British National Strike founded by activist Richard Donaldson.
Cllrs Tyrrell and Boulton said in their statement: “The Union Flag and the St George’s Cross are symbols that belong to everyone. However, their placement in unauthorised locations and recent campaigns and behaviours linked to the unauthorised display of flags have caused genuine concern among many residents.
“This action is not about discouraging pride or celebration, but about ensuring that our shared spaces remain safe, welcoming, and respectful for all.”
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service