Extremism in England

One of the initiators not only received donations from the extreme right-wing organization Britain First on behalf of the organization, but also expressed support for the white-minded Tommy Robinson on several occasions in individual social media.

In late August, in Britain, a group of people, through social media, called on people to fly the United Jack and the flag of England (St. George's Cross) in the streets and called themselves #OperationRaiseColours. From time to time, this operation, which began in Birmingham, spread throughout England, with hundreds or even thousands of local groups in many towns and cities taking the initiative to climb up the sky bridge and even to fly a flag on a street lamppost, or to spray cyclops into a white Red Cross representing England.

Such actions have led to different speculations and even controversy, once again on migration. However, there are differences of opinion even within the immigrant community: New Statesman journalists visited Birmingham and heard that residents of Pakistani origin were afraid of the sudden rise of the English flag; but there were also Turkish barbers who responded to calls from local groups to fly the United Kingdom flag outside their own hairdresser and were happy to agree to take photos of the publication in social media. Some South Asian immigrants mistook the flags for the commemoration of V-J Day (Day of Victory of the Japanese War). In contrast, one of the descendants of Caribbean migrants claimed to know the initiators of the activities there and said, “Of course they know what they are doing”.

Why are there these different interpretations? What does all this have to do with immigration?

What kind of English?

Unlike the political culture of the United States, the British usually fly fewer flags. The United Kingdom flag is most frequently observed in royal or military-related commemorative events, and the most common mainstream occasion for the British flag is an international sporting event, such as the St. George's Cross, which was seen on the streets during the international tournament in July.

But normally, what is the place where the United Kingdom flag is flying on the streets? As stated by Robert Shrimsley, chief commentator of British politics in the Financial Times, the most immediate example is the country's identity decades ago in divided and violent Northern Ireland, where different camps have expressed their identity by flying flags in public spaces, in which pro-British parties have declared their “ownership” of this space through the flag.

Also around the 1980s, the English flag was used by white male hooligans (often known as hooligans) who rioted in the streets during football matches. Perhaps even more troublesome is the fact that many far-right organizations, including last summer’s anti-immigrant riots, have also been acclaimed to wave the flag of England as an expression of their desire to “take back” their country from immigrants and rebuild “purified” England. In recent years, and especially in the past year, those who waved the flag of England have been seen on the news pages, most often in these anti-immigrant groups.

Sponsor: This is patriotism, not racism.

In this context, such a flag action has led to different understandings and interpretations in society.

On the one hand, the sponsors maintain that their actions were motivated by patriotism. A local group in one of Birmingham ' s suburbs, flying the flag of England on thousands of street lights, was reported by BBC as the first wave in the country to start doing so. Instead of referring explicitly to race or immigration in the narratives of the Facebook community they used to mobilize, they simply said that they were “a group of proud English men with the common goal of showing Birmingham and the country as a whole how proud we are of our history, freedom and achievements”.

▲ On 2 September 2025, a small ring intersection in Margate, United Kingdom, was red-lined to symbolize the flag of England (St. George's Cross).

Another local group interviewed by The Guardian came from towns south of Birmingham, and the administrator, on the popular fund-raising page, shouted to potential donors: “This is `not' racism, never was, never was” and “all of the different ethnic groups and religions within the community came and praised what we were doing, so please do not call it racism”.

On the other hand, others believe that the composition of these groups is not necessarily so simple. #OperationRaisetheColours' co-founder, Andy Saxon, not only represents the organization in receiving donations from the extreme right-wing organization Britain First, but has repeatedly expressed support for the white-supremeist Tommy Robinson (the real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) in individual social media.

When asked by journalists, Saxon made it clear that he “does not think that Britain First is a far-right organization” and stated that he was “a supporter of Tommy Robinson”. Britain First, an anti-Islamic organization that advocates the prohibition of any Muslim from holding public office, has on several occasions forcibly broken into mosques and clashed with believers. As for Tommy Robinson, a well-known conspirator, he was sentenced to prison for spreading rumours that falsely accused individual migrants of violent crimes and for interfering with the conduct of trials, including by means of live broadcasts, in judicial cases involving immigrants.

At the same time, some commentators concerned with racism felt that rather than focusing on the motivations of individual organizers, the overall impact of the operation should be viewed. In particular, it was only last summer that British extreme right-wing groups staged a riot and this year the British flag surrounded a number of hotels hosting refugees or violently attacked immigration centres.

Thus, an anti-racist NGO worker interviewed by the Guardian argued that such an activity could also “give confidence to racists that they are more daring to target refugees and migrants” and give moral support to the extreme right. Paul Jackson, a British historian who studied the extreme right, was quoted in the same article as saying that his concern was at this point in time “to create an opportunity for the extreme right to continue to grow”.

Under the confrontation, politicians take what they want.

Against this background, such activities inevitably trigger confrontation. In the face of conflict, it is natural that different politicians start to take care of their needs.

For example, the online news that Birmingham’s local government removed these flags allowed right-wing politicians to reaffirm their “diagnosis” of British society: pluralism failed, and liberals betrayed Britain. In response, the local government in Birmingham clarified that the flag had not been deliberately removed and that it was still flying in front of the Government building, but only a small part of it because of the upgrade of the street light or other security concerns; moreover, the lamppost was legally subject to authorization to fly the flag.

Despite this, local government leaders throughout the Reform Party immediately issued a joint statement in which they vowed that they would never remove any flags, which were a symbol of unity — but several of them also issued their own announcements, with a substantive position similar to that of Birmingham's Government, saying that they should not fly flags without permission on road lights or road signs in order to avoid traffic hazards. The local governments of many different political parties have warned of the danger of varnishing and flying flags on traffic signs such as circles and road signs.

As for the Conservative Party, which faces competition from the Reform Party, its Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Phelps, adds charges for the removal of the flag of England, suggesting that there is a “two-tier” of British law enforcement — ostensibly in favour of double standards — but this was a common term in the British far-right in the past, accusing government units, including the police, of helping immigrants and pressing “common people”.

By the same token, Robert Jénrick, who is widely believed within the Conservative Party to be interested in the leadership of the party, moving from the middle to the right of the anti-immigrants, raised his flag in his own electoral district and accused the “governments that hate Britain” of removing it. It is also noteworthy that their most obvious target was Birmingham’s local government, which had a special place in Britain’s far-right imagination and had been described as a city in power by immigrants, and therefore in ruin.

For his part, the Labour Prime Minister, Shi Ji-hyun, tried to stay out of the way, expressing support for the people ' s expression of patriotism and the flying of flags, but did not know the specifics of Birmingham and others. By contrast, the mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, who is more daring and believed to have the ambition to lead the Labour Party, has more clearly expressed his concern that “some people seem intent on provoking confrontation”.

“Of course you can show the flag, as long as it's your choice”, Burnham says, “But I don't know, sometimes I'm confused about the time we're in.”