Oxfordshire County Council has won a landmark high court injunction against the unauthorised display of England flags on lampposts, a decision that council leader Tim Bearder says will serve as a blueprint for other local authorities.
Court ruling and reaction
The High Court of England and Wales ruled that hanging the English flag from lampposts without council permission is not allowed. Four individuals associated with the group Raise the Colours agreed to stop hoisting flags and to not impede council staff from removing them. The group had been placing flags of St George and union jacks along roadsides in a campaign they describe as patriotic, but which the council deemed unsafe and intimidating.
Bearder, a Liberal Democrat, said the council spent about £50,000 removing flags and faced a £24m budget shortfall. “We don’t want to be spending money on legal action to prevent people doing illegal things,” he said. He emphasised that the council is not banning flags on private property, and that he himself flies the St George’s flag at home during the World Cup.
Safety concerns and abuse
The council said contractors removing flags faced “hostility and obstruction,” including being followed and harassed. Some staff wore balaclavas and used unmarked vans at night to avoid confrontations. Bearder said the council had a legal duty to maintain a safe highways network, especially as flags were being placed on busy roundabouts using ladders.
“It’s not a culture war,” Bearder said. “We’re trying to maintain a neutral, safe space for residents.” He noted that the council had received hundreds of abusive messages since the ruling, which he attributed to misinformation.
National context
The phenomenon began in Birmingham and spread across the West Midlands and beyond. Raise the Colours describes itself as a grassroots movement for unity and patriotism, but critics accuse it of anti-immigration rhetoric. Birmingham City Council has said it will remove unauthorised flags and consider legal action.
Reform UK MP Richard Tice and former football manager Harry Redknapp criticised the council, while Bearder faced online abuse. Ryan Bridge of Raise the Colours called the injunction “horrendous” and said he was being shut down. “These people have got too much time on their hands and they despise the likes of us,” he said.
