The trend has spread across the country with flags appearing on lampposts, bridges and outside people’s homes in many areas.
Rod Sessions, commercial director at the Hampshire Flag Company, one of the UK’s largest flag manufacturers and suppliers, said: “Compared to last August sales of Union and St George’s flags are up by around 20 per cent. Every morning when I check the orders there are hundreds more compared to last August.”
“We very much don’t want to make a profit out of something that has fairly negative connotation around it,” he said. “We always see it as a sign of pride to fly your flag, whatever nation you belong to but I think there’s more of a negative feeling around this growth in sales.
The movement behind the sale in flags is believed to have been started – and continues to be encouraged – by the Birmingham-based groups the Weoley Warriors and Weoley Castle Warriors.
The fundraising page, which it said, was set up to raise funds to buy flags, poles and cable ties and put them up in local areas, stands at more than £20,000.
Flags began to appear around Birmingham earlier in August (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty)However, Andy Robinson, from Manchester-based United Flags, fears the movement has anti-immigration and racist undertones.
“Many people are now worried about displaying their own national flag because they do not want to be perceived as far right.”
“I’d say the sale of flagpoles for people’s garden has doubled,” he said. “We tend to sell flagpoles to local authorities, to companies for their head office. All of a sudden, we’re getting lots of enquiries for people to plant poles in their gardens.”
However, he believes the vast majority of the flags purchased over the past few weeks are cheaper imports.
While the rise in sales has led to tens of thousands of flags being put on public infrastructure, the increase is, according to the Hampshire Flag Company, more comparable to an event like Remembrance Sunday than a football World Cup.
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Robinson also pointed to the recent protests over Israel’s actions in Gaza as the reason behind a doubling of demand for Palestinian flags, but that “this is from a very low base”.
Peter Osborne, a cabinet member for highways and transport at Kent County Council, said: “We very much recognise that people wish to express their views, but we must use common sense.
“Flags will have to be removed if they are in any way putting people’s safety at risk.”
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