LONDON: The United Kingdom finds itself embroiled in a contentious debate over national identity and the symbolism of its flag. This issue is the latest to deepen the political rift as the Labour government grapples with mounting criticism concerning various policies, including those on free speech and immigration. Many citizens express growing apprehension about the nation’s direction.

Throughout the summer, this debate intensified, highlighting the perceived disconnect between the ruling class and the general public. The conversation about the national flag, which has been ongoing for several years, reignited following anti-Israel demonstrations that emerged after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. This period saw an increased presence of Palestinian flags across Britain.

The situation became more contentious as Palestinian flags were displayed on public buildings, sparking criticism that such actions betray traditional British values and suggesting that immigrant communities are influencing local norms. In response to public pressure, several councils in cities with significant immigrant populations, such as Sheffield, Preston, and Bradford, decided to raise the Palestinian flag to commemorate the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Palestinian flags were notably visible in areas like Sparkhill, Birmingham, following the UK’s symbolic recognition of a Palestinian state on September 22, 2025. (Photo by Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

Colin Brazier, a commentator on British culture, voiced his opinion to Fox News Digital, stating, “There’s only one flag that should be flying on public buildings in the U.K., including those of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and that’s the Union flag. We need to unite around national narratives and symbols, and the flag is the simplest, most visual, visceral way of doing that.”

Brazier is calling for a “strategy of national cohesion” with a ban on foreign flags on taxpayer-funded buildings. He said that Britain should follow America’s model of nation-building as the U.K. wrestles with “imported disintegration” and attempts to return to Britain’s core values.

Current GOV.UK guidance indicated councils should prioritize the Union flag.

The flag of the United Kingdom and the Flag of St George hang from lamposts in Birmingham. Operation Raise the Colours  have been flying and painting Union and St George’s Cross flags as part of a U.K.-wide campaign. Sunday Sept. 14, 2025. (Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

In August, a group of concerned citizens started ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ which called for people to put their flags up where they live and in their everyday lives to rally Britons. The online movement encouraged Britons to continue putting up England’s St. George’s Cross and Union Jack flags.

Yet the sudden resurgence of British and English flags has been met with suspicion and criticism from the left, with many angered at the proliferation of the flags complaining they represent anti-migration and far-right sentiment.

Critics warn the U.K. is becoming increasingly divided — so much so that it is deemed controversial to fly the Union flag in public — and that parts of the country seem to care more about causes happening thousands of miles from its borders.

Anti-Israel protesters hold a banner at a protest against the Jewish state in London, UK in Dec, 2023.  (Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.)

The controversy over the flags continued after Prime Minister Keir Starmer recognized a Palestinian state in September. A few days later, Starmer delivered an impassioned speech to the Labour Party’s annual conference as his center-left party pushed back against critics who said it had abandoned patriotism.

Speaking to flag-waving supporters, Starmer tried to reprise his party’s patriotic roots, urging a cheering crowd, “Let’s fly all our flags, conference, because they are our flags, they belong to all of us and we will never surrender them… And with resolve, with respect, with the flag in our hands, we will renew this country.” He also made clear the flag was for all citizens ,noting, “Our flags — flying proudly, as we celebrate differences and oppose racism.”

Yet opposition politicians were quick to dismiss Starmer’s flag speech, with one Member of Parliament, Lee Anderson, Reform’s chief whip, saying: “You’re more likely to see a Labour member fly the flag of Palestine than a St. George’s flag. That tells you all you need to know,” the Daily Telegraph reported.

Delegates wave flags as Sir Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party delivers his speech to several standing ovations at the 2025 Labour Party Conference on the 30th of Sept. 2025 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Andrew Aitchison / In pictures via Getty Images)

While many councils ignored Fox News Digital’s request for comment, Belfast City Council in Northern Ireland justified its decision by declaring the flag was hoisted, “In recognition of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to erect the national flag of Palestine above the City Hall on the next available day from midnight.”

This issue, however, is also viewed as a symbol of shifting power. Brazier lamented the government’s indifferent attitude toward immigration and says “importing 10 million people in 25 years has a ruinous impact.”

According to a March 2025 report by the Muslim Council of Britain, the country’s Muslim population increased by 1.2 million between 2011 and 2021, with the total number of Muslims accounting for about 6% of the U.K. population.

A recent YouGov study found mixed views on the Union flag and England’s flag of St. George. 58% of 2024 Labour voters perceive the English flag as a racist symbol but just 19% of Conservative voters and 8% of Reform voters feel the same way. The poll said that a majority of ethnic minority adults (55%) believe those putting up St George’s flags do so “mostly as a way of expressing anti-migrant and/or anti-ethnic minority sentiment”, with a plurality (41%) saying the same goes for the union flag.

It also found that “White adults too tend to believe anti-migrant/minority motivations are primarily behind the flag raisings, with 49% saying so for the English flag and 39% for the British one.”

A British Union flag flies from a souvenir stall near the Houses of Parliament in London, UK, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Another finding of the YouGov study found that those of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage were, “the most likely to see racist sentiment in the flag displays. This is particularly marked when it comes to the belief that the England flag has become a racist symbol with 68% of Pakistani/Bangladeshi adults believing this, compared to 54% of those of mixed ethnicity, 51% of those with Indian heritage and 43% of Black adults.”