A Labour minister has demanded that Union and St George's flags in her constituency be taken down, saying they are a source of division and intimidation.
Sarah Sackman, the MP for Finchley and Golders Green, said many of her constituents find the flags unsettling. St George's Crosses and Union banners were raised on lamp posts across the country as part of the Operation Raise the Colours social media campaign last year.
Call for removal
Writing for the Barnet Post, Ms Sackman said: "Now that the final whistle has blown on the 2026 World Cup, I’m calling full time on the flags." She added: "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."
She noted that since September, huge numbers of flags have been put up on 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," she wrote. Ms Sackman said she had heard from many residents who described the flags as unsettling, intimidating and othering. She called on Barnet Council to "hand our streets back to the tolerant and inclusive majority of the community by removing the flags."
Residents respond
Residents Jack and Deborah Miller, who said they had hung flags in Barnet, hit back at Ms Sackman. Mrs Miller said: "I think that comment itself is actually causing division, and it’s divisive. We just want to live in peace. We just want to be. We’re proud Jews. What’s wrong with the flag?"
Mr Miller added: "In synagogues, on the Saturday morning service up and down the country, we have a special prayer for the country where we pray for the Royal Family, the King, the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the military. And we’re proud to be part of this country. And we’re proud of the morals this nation has always had."
