A Derbyshire war veteran who is concerned about the unauthorised spread of the St George and Union Jack flags across the county and their use by those opposed to immigration has become involved in a controversial debate with a campaigner who supports the proliferation of the British flag.
Staveley Town Councillor and Royal Navy veteran, Paul Mann, who served in the Falklands War, supports flying the flag but he has expressed opposition to what he believes is its over misrepresentation by those with concerns over immigration and to the sheer number of unauthorised flags on lampposts which he fears may pose safety risks and subsequent costs for taxpayers.
Cllr Mann accused campaigner James Holmes, who urged people to fly the flag at a protest against asylum seekers near Sheepbridge, in Chesterfield, of posting provocative social media comments which he claims could be damaging for areas, jobs and the economy.
The Independent town councillor said:
I know the reason why some of these flags have been put up. It’s not patriotism, it’s racism, it’s hatred, it’s a campaign.
If you look at the protest near Sheepbridge and those posting it online, if you look at the videos online when a young kid is on a video putting fingers up and shouting abuse to police that is not patriotism, that is hooliganism.
Operation Raise The Colours – patriotism or racism?
The flag movement which has seen streets festooned with Union and St George flags has triggered continued debate since it gathered momentum across Derbyshire including in Chesterfield, Staveley, Matlock, Gamesley and elsewhere in the UK with accusations of racism following the launch of the Operation Raise the Colours campaign in the name of national pride and patriotism.
Some supporters of Operation Raise the Colours have rejected claims that putting up flags is part of a far-right movement or that it has any racist connotations over concerns about immigration difficulties in the UK.
Mr Holmes has made a number of social media posts urging people to support businesses that fly the flag and to avoid those that do not and he recently urged people to attend the Sandpiper Hotel demonstration, near Sheepbridge, in Chesterfield, where asylum seekers are housed for a ‘Massive turnout, lots of flags, smiles, music and fun chants’.
A flier posted on social media by Mr Holmes states, ‘Calling all patriots! The nation is constantly under attack!’, and ‘Peaceful protest only’.
Pro and anti immigration protests in the region
Anti-immigration protesters waving the Union and St George flags turned out in force for the second heated demonstration on November 30 outside The Sandpiper Hotel, on Sheffield Road, after a similar event on September 28.
Two sets of protesters including those opposed to illegal immigration and counter campaigners eager to defend immigrants attended both demonstrations.
Protesters opposed to asylum hotels have aired claims that illegal immigrants are coming to the UK for its benefits and that the costs of housing asylum seekers is at the public’s expense, while Chesterfield & District TUC’s Unity in the Community counter-demonstration including Women Against the Far Right have called for people to take a stance against views which it regards as far-right and racist.
Cllr Mann has criticised Mr Holmes’s social media posts including one where Mr Holmes offered help to anybody attending peaceful protests at a school that does not allow the nation’s flags and culture to be promoted on culture day.
A voice in favour of flying the flags everywhere
Property developer Mr Holmes is well-known after he erected a massive Union Jack across former NE Derbyshire District Council offices in Chesterfield in September before Chesterfield Borough Council ordered its removal under ‘large format advertisement’ planning regulations only for Mr Holmes to replace it with a bigger flag measuring over 100ft.
Mr Holmes said he is committed to flying the Union Jack flag of ‘our own country’ and anyone who is concerned about that is free to move elsewhere.
He added the flag is not about colour, race or culture and he says if you go to any other country in the world they are proud to fly their flag.
Mr Holmes said:
Every other country is proud of the flag. There isn’t another country that has done more for other countries than ours.
I am not saying this from a super-nationalist idea. Look around what Britain has done for the world. If other countries can be proud of their flag, what on earth has to be wrong with you not to be proud of our flag?
If this is the country where your business is in and where your customers are and this is the country where you expect the military to defend you, if this is the country where your kids are, does it not make sense to support businesses that support that country?
Mr Holmes doesn’t agree the flags present racism
For those who argue the flag has been hijacked by the wrong groups, Mr Holmes believes it is possible to say that about anything.
He added:
I support the Union Jack because it is in its name – its union. It has brought the countries together and it has unity.
Mr Holmes, who campaigns for homeless war veterans and has fundraised for worthy causes, has raised concerns that some schools were not flying the flag during culture days but were supporting other cultures.
He said:
Why on earth would you have culture days when you have support for everyone else’s culture? So tell me what you have got in most schools that supports British culture? Not flags and banners on walls.
I come from a point of stamping out racism and I get accused of racism but I always say show me proof of where racism has come from?
Tensions are rising, and so are the costs
Cllr Mann has also grown concerned about potential conflict after he had one complaint from a resident who had to remove flags from a lamppost outside their home two or three times because someone kept returning to replace the flags which created tension.
He said:
I have had complaints in Hollingwood where people have taken them down and people have come back and been threatening towards them. That’s not democracy and patriotism.
Flag Force UK in York clashed with the self-proclaimed International Flagging Committee which started to put up alternative flags from other countries on lampposts which were torn down by opponents and the police were alerted amidst tensions before the City of York Council stated all flags would be removed at the cost of £250,000.
Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council has also proposed spending £75,000 towards flying the Union flag around Nottinghamshire despite criticism that this flag has become a symbol of division and intimidation for minority groups and that the money could be better spent on residents’ needs.
The wave of unofficially erected flags across Derbyshire and the UK have involved a degree of organisation with the use of ladders and possibly cherry pickers with pallets of flags reportedly costing £4,500 for 2,000.
Derbyshire County Council is reluctant to remove all flags
Cllr Mann has also questioned Reform-led Derbyshire County Council over its reluctance to remove flags from lampposts despite his concerns about what may unfold including the potential for conflict, and if they become ragged and unsightly or they come loose and hit moving traffic.
He claims Derbyshire County Council has not fully considered how the flags could pose highways safety and insurance risks with costs falling to taxpayers.
Cllr Mann asked the county council whether its insurance arrangements cover potential issues surrounding unauthorised flags on lampposts and who will cover the costs for their removal when they are poorly maintained and become an eyesore, or lead to injuries and accidents.
Derbyshire County Council referred Cllr Mann to Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and explained any such concerns would be dealt with in a similar manner to any other claim made against the council.
The council echoed a previously released statement explaining the council’s highways policy sets out a risk-based approach to managing these issues, including flags being attached to street lights, so that it can make sure that its roads and pavements are safe.
It added that if the council is made aware flags have been attached to lampposts it will assess them to see if they pose a danger to the public and only remove them if they do pose a danger.
The council stated that it is highly unlikely that it will remove the majority of flags and it will take the same approach if flags are painted on roundabouts.
A council spokesperson said:
This current scenario is not normal business as usual practice, and Derbyshire County Council like many other local authorities have been required to rapidly adapt to the scale of the ever-changing circumstances.
The council also offered Cllr Mann an opportunity to challenge its response further to the authority’s access to information service and invited him to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office if he was still dissatisfied.
Flags should be on buildings, not lampposts
Cllr Mann said:
Flags should be allowed from flag poles at every public building but not from lampposts. What if one comes off and falls across the windscreen of a moving car near pedestrians.
If the flag flew off because it was not secured properly and went over a car and it crashed I can guarantee you that if a court case came up and if there was a barrister representing the county council they would say they are not negligent because they did not put it up.
But I would say they are because they are aware of a possible hazard and they have not removed it.
Devolution Minister Jim McMahon said during a visit to Derbyshire how he is proud of the St George and Union flags as a form of national identity and he sees them as positive despite the growing concerns of their symbolism in light of the UK immigration crisis.
By Local Democracy Reporter Jon Cooper
