Tory councillor claims 'scruffy' St George's flags are 'damaging community spirit'

A Conservative councillor has said Essex residents are "sick" of "scruffy" St George's flags hanging from lampposts, adding they damage "community spirit".

Conservative leader on Braintree District Council, Tom Cunningham said the flags should be "maintained in a way that reflects the respect they deserve."

While Councillor Cunningham welcomed the flags being flown during England's time in the FIFA World Cup, he said they were deteriorating on the flagpoles.

Community groups had previously warned the flags had become a "symbol of intimidation".

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In a letter to Essex County Council leader, Reform UK’s Peter Harris, Councillor Cunningham said: "The union flag is flown from our Causeway House offices and, following the completion of necessary repair works, is once again flying from Braintree town hall.

"However there are a large number of national flags inappropriately and unsafely secure to highways infrastructure in the district and in some cases they have become displaced, tangled or no longer displaying as intended due to the nature of the infrastructure to which they are attached.

"Additionally, some of the flags have deteriorated significantly.

"We feel it is important that, where our national flags are displayed, they are maintained in a way that reflects the respect they deserve."

In a further post on social media, Councillor Cunningham said residents had told him they were "sick" of seeing deteriorated flags on posts.

He said: "The flag waves proudly over Causeway House and Braintree Town Hall.

"I was hoping we could continue to wave the St George's flag to celebrate an England world cup victory, sadly not to be.

"But residents are sick of the tatty, scruffy, weather-beaten rubbish that are hanging from our lamp columns. They are damaging to our town and our community spirit and they need taking down."

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The widespread flying of Union and St George’s Cross flags, following an online campaign called Operation Raise the Colours, has become contentious and several local authorities have removed them from public infrastructure.

While some politicians decried the removals, others claimed the increased number being flown was a result of xenophobia or racism.

Community cohesion group Epping for Everyone said: "We have been contacted by many individuals and families in Epping over recent months who have told us that they, and their children, have felt increasingly uncomfortable in their own town when protests take place and when flags are displayed in ways that suggest a marking of territory or a symbol of intimidation."

In response, the Reform UK led-council said removing the flags is "equivalent to the cost of repairing a pothole."

An Essex County Council spokesman said: "We will continue to remove flags from highways infrastructure where they pose a risk to the safety of road users.

"While we take immense pride in our national flag, the cost of removing them, taking into account the equipment and crews needed, is equivalent to the cost of repairing a pothole.

"We need to carefully consider how we can best use taxpayer’s money especially when we know the state of the roads is the top priority for so many people."

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