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Flags with positive messages ‘trampled and binned’ in Merseyside town

A member of the public has written to the Canary regarding the flag situation in their home town of Earlestown, Merseyside. According to them, while St George’s crosses and Union Jacks remain up, flags with positive messages have been “trampled and binned”.

Operation Raise the Colours

The political campaign to erect flags up and down the country is called Operation Raise the Colours. People have linked it to the far right because the movement’s organisers are notable far-right leaders, as HOPE not hate reported:

Union Jacks and the crosses of St George have begun to appear on lampposts up and down the UK in recent days. Much of the right-wing media has celebrated, with the Daily Mail dubbing those behind it an “army of patriots.”

While there is nothing wrong with flying the nation’s flags, HOPE not hate can reveal that the key organisers behind much of this activism are hardened and extreme far-right activists.

While many instances of flags being raised, or crosses being painted on roundabouts or walls, are being carried out by ordinary people inspired by posts on social media, the main organising force behind the campaign is “Operation Raise the Colours”.

HOPE not hate can reveal that the co-founder and organiser of the group is longtime Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson) ally Andrew Currien (AKA Andy Saxon). Formerly a key member of the English Defence League’s leadership bodyguard team, and now running security for the far-right party Britain First, Currien has previously been jailed for his part in a racist death. He was one of six men convicted in 2009 after a 59-year-old man was crushed to death by a car following a violent brawl.

Robinson described the Unite the Kingdom march on Saturday 13 September as follows:


People have argued that ‘free speech’ is a cover for further oppressing minoritised communities, which is an argument that would explain why supporters are targeting some flags and leaving others:

Earlestown: flags destroyed

Writing to the Canary and other journalists, the member of the public who contacted us said:

For a couple of weeks now Earlestown in Merseyside has been filled with St George’s flags – they’ve been left alone and more have gradually been put up over time. At the end of last week a number of other types of flags were put up in the Earlestown market square that were very quickly selectively removed. My friends took some pictures of these flags which I’ve attached. As you can see these were quite positive, with messages of patriotism, pride, inclusivity, hope, and unity: a union jack with ‘everyone welcome’, a progress pride flag, a Ukraine flag, and one with ‘workers of the world unite’. These were added to the St George’s flags that were already flying on the square – I didn’t see that any of the St George flags had been removed or replaced. But the flags that were added with the positive message have now been trampled and binned, while the St George ones have been left alone. I attach another picture of a Ukraine flag that went up at about the same time in the local park, the Dingle, that was trampled. It was very sad to see it left in the mud like that. Again, the St George flags on the Dingle are still there, so it’s clear that this one was also selectively removed.

Image of a St. George's cross with 'it's coming home' written on it and a 'workers of the world unite' flag Image of a Ukraine flag on the floor Image of a Union Jack with the message 'everyone welcome' and a St. George's cross with 'it's coming home' written on it Image of an LGBTQ+ flag and a St. George's cross with 'It's coming home' written on it

The letter continued:

Obviously the effect and intent of this action by local far right groups is clear: that everyone is not welcome, that unity is not desired, that other countries in distress like Ukraine (or Palestine) are not supported here, and that the LGBTQ+ community is not welcome here; that England is a closed country, only for ‘native’, white, straight, right wing people. Aside from the scary effect of that message, which will no doubt impact many residents given that these flags were present for a very busy market day weekend and have now been conspicuously removed, I have a number of concerns. First, I think that the removal and trampling of the pride flag is probably a hate crime. Secondly, St Helens’ decision not to remove the St George flags – which they indicated on social media – is contextual, and in the current context it is now clear that the St George’s flags are being used as symbols of hate and not patriotism, as the Prime Minister has also today indicated on a national level. From this perspective I have concerns both about the public sector equality duty and about Wednesbury unreasonableness – that the council may be at risk of not acting with consistency in allowing these flags at this point.

I’m contacting you, and other journalists, anonymously about this because I’m frightened, given the atmosphere in our town. When we were in the market and talking about how nice the flags were, a man that we didn’t know started loudly shouting about human rights lawyers and minorities and it left us all a bit shaken. We’re all LGBTQ+ and some ethnic minorities, and several of us have already been the victim of hate crimes in the area previously.

Government response

Prime minister Keir Starmer reacted to the far-right-led movement to state he is “very encouraging of flags”; he also said that they should not be used for divisive purposes.

In response to the Unite the Kingdom march which took place on 13 September, Starmer more explicitly condemned the people behind the movement, stating:

Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.

Canary writer Maryam Jameela has disputed this position, writing about how the UK’s flags are inherently tied to its colonial history.

Featured image via reader submission

By Willem Moore

This post was originally published on Canary.