Sales of Union Flags and St George’s flags have risen by around 20 per cent and flagpole purchases have doubled in recent weeks, according to Britain’s leading suppliers.
The trend has spread across the country with flags appearing on lampposts, bridges and outside people’s homes in many areas.
Many say they are raising them as a symbol of pride and celebration. However, at a time when tensions are running high over immigration, some have voiced concerns they have been “hijacked by extremists and prejudiced people”.
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.”
Sessions, whose company supplies the Royal Navy and the Olympic Team GB with flags, added that he feels “uncomfortable” with the reason behind the growth in sales.
“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.
“However, we can’t know what reason the flags are being bought for. We can only surmise that’s why people are buying them.”
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 groups describe themselves on a GoFundMe page as “proud English men” who have a “common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country of how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements”.
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)Another group calling themselves “Operation Raise the Colours” are also boosting sales. On its Facebook page, which has more than 5,000 members, it states it wants to “bring back patriotism once and for all”.
However, Andy Robinson, from Manchester-based United Flags, fears the movement has anti-immigration and racist undertones.
He said: “It does appear that especially the St George’s flag has been hijacked by extremists, especially racist and prejudiced people, and that’s a shame because it is our national flag.
“Many people are now worried about displaying their own national flag because they do not want to be perceived as far right.”
Robinson also pointed to a steep rise in the sale of flagpoles from buyers seeking to display a flag in their front garden.
“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.”
Like the Hampshire Flag Company, Robinson’s United Flags sell ones which range from around £20 up into the hundreds of pounds, depending on size and quality. The cost of a garden flagpole starts from around £100 to more than £400, with an additional cost for installation.
However, he believes the vast majority of the flags purchased over the past few weeks are cheaper imports.
“The irony that most of the flags we’re seeing hung from lamp posts or bridges are imported from China, so people trying to support their nation are, in fact, supporting a sweatshop in China somewhere. We just don’t do that. We make quality flags.”
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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“So, while there has been a big uplift in sales of Union and St George’s flags in recent weeks, it doesn’t compare to the World Cup or something like the Queen’s funeral. It is a significant and surprising uplift though.”
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”.
Some local authorities have taken flags down when they have been placed on council-owned property, but others such as Kent are leaving them up if they are not considered to represent a safety risk.
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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