There they go again. As England prepares for another World Cup campaign, while millions of decent, ordinary people look forward to flying the St George’s Cross and getting behind their national team, a familiar group of joyless bureaucrats and self-appointed cultural guardians have emerged from the shadows to tell us that our flag is somehow a problem.
Councils across parts of England are warning residents not to display England flags on public property because they might be “divisive”, “unwelcoming” or damage a so-called “cohesive community feel”.
Think about that for a moment.
The flag of England. The symbol carried by generations of Englishmen and women. The banner flown by our soldiers, our sports teams and our communities. A flag that should unite us. Yet somehow, in the warped worldview of the modern wokerati, it has become something to apologise for.
The truth is that this is not really about health and safety. It never is.
This is about a political class that has spent years treating patriotism with suspicion. A political class that can celebrate every identity except its own. A political class that has become so detached from the instincts of ordinary people that it now sees the simple act of flying your national flag as something requiring official approval.
Chris Philp is absolutely right to call this nonsense out.
Patriotism is not extremism. National pride is not intolerance. Supporting England at a World Cup is not an act of division.
In fact, the opposite is true.
A nation that ceases to love itself is a nation that begins to decline. A country that becomes embarrassed by its own history, symbols and traditions is a country that loses confidence in its future.
The overwhelming majority of people understand this instinctively. They know that flying the St George’s Cross is not about hostility to anyone else. It is about belonging. It is about community. It is about celebrating the country we call home.
Indeed, many migrants who have come here legally and embraced Britain understand this better than some of our own political elites. They chose Britain because they admired what it stood for. They did not arrive expecting Britain to apologise for being Britain.
What makes this latest outbreak of flag-phobia particularly revealing is its timing.
The old consensus is crumbling.
Voters are rejecting the politics of guilt, apology and national self-loathing. Across the country, people are increasingly demanding secure borders, safer streets, accountable government and a renewed sense of national confidence.
Perhaps that is why we are seeing these increasingly desperate attempts to police patriotism.
The wokerati can sense that the tide is turning.
For years they dominated our institutions, our councils, our universities and large parts of the public sector. They lectured the public about what they should think, what they should say and even which symbols they should be allowed to celebrate.
Now they are discovering that ordinary people have had enough.
This feels less like a confident movement setting the agenda and more like a last hurrah from an ideology that knows its best days are behind it.
The next generation of political leadership will not be embarrassed by Britain. It will not treat the Union Jack or the St George’s Cross as awkward relics requiring explanation. It will understand that patriotism is a strength, not a weakness.
The England flag belongs to the English people, not to councillors, activists or bureaucrats.
No council decree can change that. No guidance note can change that. No amount of hand-wringing about hurt feelings can change that.
England’s flag has flown through centuries of triumph and adversity. It has survived wars, invasions, political upheaval and social change. It will certainly survive a few modern council officials clutching their clipboards and worrying about whether patriotism might upset somebody.
So fly it proudly. Cheer England on. Celebrate our country. And remember this episode when local elections come around. Because the real question is not why people want to fly the St George’s Cross.
The real question is why so many people in positions of authority seem so uncomfortable with the idea that England should be proud of itself.
Go England!
