Labour MP Sarah Sackman has called for Union flags to be taken down from lamp posts in her constituency, describing them as 'unsettling, intimidating and othering' after the end of the 2026 World Cup.
Call for removal
Writing in a local newspaper, the government minister for Courts and Legal Services said: 'Those who live and spend time in Temple Fortune and Golders Green will know that St George’s and Union Jacks were hoisted on public lamp posts, without permission, long before the World Cup.'
'It is now time for them to come down. Since September, huge numbers of flags have been put up on our public property in Barnet. For many members of our community, these flags do not feel like a symbol of national pride, they are a source of division and intimidation.'
Background of flag controversy
The flags appeared as part of the 'Operation Raise the Colours' movement, with right-wing activists among those attaching or painting them onto public infrastructure. Last year, Labour MP Dr Jeevun Sandher also criticised the flags, calling them 'tatty' and warning they could fall into the road. He told the Reform-controlled council that constituents found them 'unwelcoming'.
Sackman added: 'People are entitled to fly whatever flags they wish on their own property, but our public places must belong to all. Now that the World Cup is over, I am calling on Barnet Council to hand our streets back to the tolerant and inclusive majority of the community by removing the flags.'
Related developments
Raise the Colours co-founder Billy Allison was charged with the murder of a pub owner in May, though this is not directly linked to the flag controversy.
