By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-04 21:45:39 | Updated at 2026-09-04 22:44:37
1 hour ago
When activists started hoisting up the Union and St George's flags on public infrastructure last summer as part of "Operation Raise the Colours", millions of Britons believed the nation was on the path to restoration.
To the shock of the liberal establishment and those advocating the erosion of Western values, the symbols were flown in towns and villages across the country in a fightback against the suppression of British identity.
However, figures obtained by GB News under the Freedom of Information Act reveal local authorities have collectively spent tens of thousands of pounds responding to the campaign, tearing down national banners from lampposts.
In August last year, Birmingham City Council became the first authority to remove hoisted Union and St George flags en masse, with officials arguing groups displaying them "could be putting their lives and those of motorists and pedestrians at risk" despite being positioned up to 25ft above ground level.
Between January 2025 and April 2026, the bankrupt council – the largest local authority in Europe – spent nearly £16,000 taking down flags from streets.
However, court filings have suggested Birmingham council's final bill could be as high as £2.6million.
According to papers submitted to the High Court, the authority plans to remove a total of 20,000 flags in the community.
Birmingham, which is run by a coalition of Liberal Democrats, Greens and Gaza independents, has more than £3.5billion of debt – the most of any local authority nationwide – and will raise council tax next year by the maximum 4.99 per cent.
Ryan Bridge and Elliott Stanley, co-founders of Operation Raise the Colours, are named in the documents.
The council has launched legal action to ban residents from tying Union and St George’s flags to street furniture, with members of the public facing two years' imprisonment or an unlimited fine if the legal bid is successful.
Birmingham politicians argued – due to claims staff had been harassed – the work would require "police support” and the removals would have to be in "hours of darkness" given the “safety concerns”, driving up costs.
Critics claimed a large number of Palestinian flags are flown across the city, where Muslims make up nearly a third of the total population, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Thousands of banners have been removed from lampposts across Britain
However, the first authority to successfully secure a full injunction against the organisers was Oxfordshire County Council. The council's actions were taken in June as England and Scotland competed in the Fifa World Cup.
In less than 18 months, the Lib Dem-majority council spent approximately £25,000 of taxpayers' money erasing roughly 872 "unauthorised attachments" from streetlights.
Benjamin Elks, Grassroots Development Manager at the Taxpayers' Alliance think-tank, commented: "Taxpayers will be fed up seeing councils spend thousands tearing down flags while pleading poverty and hiking bills. Town halls should enforce genuine safety rules, but heavy-handed crackdowns, storage costs and admin bills will leave residents wondering whether common sense has gone out the window. Councils must focus on fixing roads, emptying bins and delivering basic services."
Operation Raise the Colours – which was centred on people's concern about the erosion of British culture due to mass migration – began a little over 12 months ago by a group calling themselves the "Weoley Warriors".
The collective described itself as "proud English men with a common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements".
After gaining rapid traction and funding on social media, the decentralised "flagging" movement quickly spread to all corners of the British Isles: from London and Manchester, to Norwich and Swindon.
Momentum surged partly in response to a viral news story about a girl who was restricted from wearing a Union Jack-themed dress on a school culture day.
Birmingham became the first council to remove Union and St George flags
GETTY
But then-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Radio 5 Live he was worried the movement was being exploited "purely for divisive purposes" by the far-right, while Reform UK's Nigel Farage called it a wonderful grassroots movement and a "collective two fingers up to the establishment".
Aman Bhogal, Chairman of the Global Britain Centre, told Britain's News Channel: "Raise the Colours is what happens when people stop asking permission to be proud of our own country."
Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, from Don't Divide Us, an organisation that promotes a "colour-blind" approach to anti-racism, added: "The debate about flags, and the question of the ability and willingness of our political class to identify and uphold national identity and interest, is likely to be a core ideological divide of political and cultural life, not a passing fad at all.
"Multiculturalism is deeply implicated because, for a while, it provided the political elite with their justification for shaping public life and culture away from any positive view or valuation of national culture."
When Operation Raise the Colours commenced, Joseph Moulton, Founder of Flag Force UK, remarked: "For us, raising the flag and tidying the local area is about mobilising the community, rekindling social responsibility, and restoring pride in where we live.
"In recent years, especially since Covid, the loss of pubs and communal spaces, and the pressures of the cost of living, people have become more atomised and insular.
"Combined with wider social and economic difficulties, it is clear we need to start taking responsibility for our communities and making a positive impact, rather than just complaining on social media."
He added: "Ultimately, around the world, people fly their flag with pride and no one bats an eye. We have the same right to do so while using the attention it gets to spur on positive action."
John Edwards expressed outrage after his proposal to display the Union Jack was rejected
One of the many high-profile flag rows that broke out centred on Independent councillor John Edwards, who expressed outrage after his proposal to display the Union Jack at Memorial Park in Sandhurst – a town that boasts Britain's top military training academy – was rejected by his authority.
Speaking to Britain's News Channel, the Berkshire politician described the movement as a "protest" and said patriots were exercising their "freedom of expression".
He revealed: "I've never seen a council move quite so fast to do anything. I started speaking out about it, saying that's a disgrace. People should be able to fly our flag and I've never seen this kind of reaction to any other identity flags that go up."
Mr Edwards attacked fellow councillors for labelling the flag as "divisive" and "hateful".
Some had even claimed the flags were a "highway obstruction" which needed removing for "safety reasons."
He stressed: "The flag should be flown more by public bodies. People should fly it on their houses. I absolutely love seeing the Union Flag. It represents this country.
"It represents freedom. We ended slavery. We fought fascism. And it belongs to all of us.
"It should be the binding glue that binds our nation together. So whether you're rich or poor, Labour or Conservative, you know, landed gentry or commoner, we are all British. We can be united under one flag."
The movement gained rapid traction and funding on social media
GETTY
Mr Edwards' proposal was later approved and the Union flag continues to fly proudly on the structure as army officers walk by – a sign Operation Raise the Colours has no plan of ceasing anytime soon.
Dr Cuthbert echoed this view and argued Britain's political class underestimated the strength of feeling around national identity and the desire among some people to see English symbols represented more openly.
He stated: "The political class, over decades, has been unable to uphold national identity and, as a result, has been unable to promote national interests, preferring instead to push an anti-national global politics and discourse. After a while, the elite genuinely become out of touch with common feelings and values of national citizens, preferring the company and cultural tastes of their peers abroad, hence Sir Keir Starmer's preference for Davos over Westminster."
"Without such a national community, outsiders have nothing to integrate into, and indeed, the majority of formal citizens become disaggregated from their own society."
Mr Bhogal relayed: "Our national flag is not offensive, flying it is not an offence, and anyone who takes offence from it might as well go live where they feel more at home. This is not a passing moment. Once a people decide they can love their country in public, they do not go back to whispering. The flags can be taken down by the lanyardwallahs but our spirits will never be down."
In response to its flag-revocation programme, Jane Baston, Birmingham City Council's Cabinet Member for Equalities, Communities and Social Justice, said: "The Council is taking a lawful, proportionate and evidence-led approach to unauthorised attachments on the highway. This includes pursuing injunctive action based on the evidence gathered to date.
“Our priority is to protect public safety, staff and contractor welfare, community cohesion and the responsible use of public funds. We ask residents and community groups to support this approach and to ensure any displays are placed only where permission exists.”
Oxfordshire County Council has been approached for comment.
