Across Borders, ‘Raise the Colours’ Defends Patriotism
25th August 2025
The grassroots movement Operation Raise the Colors, which started in Birmingham, has since spread to Norwich, Bradford, Newcastle, Swindon, and London—among other towns and cities. The patriotic organization is encouraging people in the UK to fly their Union Jacks and St. George’s Crosses and be proud of their country as a protest against the leftist liberal agenda.
Flags have appeared on lampposts and motorway bridges and have even been painted onto roundabouts. But as quickly as the banners go up, local councils are taking them down, often citing health and safety concerns. Birmingham’s Labour-run council, for example, claimed flags fixed 25 feet in the air put “motorists and pedestrians at risk.” The same authority has allowed Palestinian flags to remain in place since October 7, 2023, and even lit the city library in Pakistani colors for Independence Day.
Tower Hamlets in East London, run by the pro-Gaza Aspire Party, has also promised to strip Union Jacks and St. George’s Crosses from council infrastructure “as soon as possible.” Officials there acted far faster to remove British flags than they did Palestinian ones.