Politicians say nation should reclaim flags

Al Carns, Dame Karen Bradley and George Finch said the flags should be a symbol of unity

Politicians in the West Midlands have called for the England and Union Jack flags to be more widely flown with pride, as a way of reclaiming it from the political "fringes".

Both flags have appeared on lamp posts and the St George cross painted on roundabouts across the region over the summer.

While some people have welcomed them, others have said it feels provocative at a time when tensions are running high over the issue of immigration. Some anti-racism campaigners have also described them as divisive.

Speaking to BBC Politics Midlands, Labour MP for Selly Oak and former Royal Marine Al Carns said "fringe groups" should not be allowed "to own that flag as a symbol of their politics".

Instead, he said the nation should "drown that out by everyone being patriotic about the flag".

Tory MP for Staffordshire Moorlands Dame Karen Bradley said the flags had been a "symbol of unity" during the Women's European Championships and the current Women's Rugby World Cup.

A former Culture Secretary with responsibility for flag policy she added: "This is our flag, it's a flag we should all be proud of."

But she agreed it could be "hijacked and we do have to be very careful".

Reform UK's George Finch, leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: "For too long it has been used by groups who politicised it.

"We need to put it back into people's hands and let's fly it and let's be proud of it."

He added that the flags represented "everybody in this country, no matter their religion, race".

Flags have appeared on bridges, lamp posts across the country over the summer

However, this week Bob Maloney from Birmingham Stand up to Racism said his group was suspicious of the motives behind the flags.

"We think that the far right are trying to really mark territory," he said.

He said the flags were being used to cause division and added: "This is not acceptable, this is a successful, multicultural, vibrant city and we want to keep it that way."

Campaigner Femi Oluwole said it also brought back memories of last summer's riots.

He said: "People felt scared to leave their homes because they might be attacked, purely based on the colour of their skin and the people that were doing this were carrying the St George's flag."

As a result, he said while people from ethnic backgrounds might like the flag, they would sometimes ask themselves "Does that mean that a racist was here?"

England flags have appeared on mini roundabouts, although some have raised safety concerns

Carns, meanwhile, who served in the Royal Marines for 24 years, said he was "really proud of the flag".

However, he did take issue with the trend for painting red crosses on roundabouts and said he did not like "having cars drive over it".

"I don't think it gives due respect to the flag that I fought for for the last 24 years," he said.

Finch added: "I see this flag flying and it's lovely to see that people have got hope again.

"Too long our country has been left to the dogs and we can finally see that people are patriotic again."

Finch attracted headlines in June after calling on Warwickshire County Council Chief Executive Monica Fogarty to stop flying the Progress Pride Flag from Shire Hall during Pride month.

At the time she refused, and this week the council's cabinet voted to strip Fogarty of the responsibility for deciding which flags should be flown from the headquarters, instead handing it to the council chairman, Reform councillor Edward Harris.

Finch told Politics Midlands despite the change in policy the chief executive would "stand by" him and the pair continued to work together.

Politics Midlands is on BBC One in the region from 10:00 BST on Sunday, and available afterwards on BBC iPlayer