UK flag clash as foreign banners fly, citizens push back against woke policies reshaping Britain
Commentator says nation should follow U.S. model of nation-building as U.K wrestles with 'imported disintergration'
By Michael Saunders Fox News
Published December 28, 2025 11:57am EST
LONDON: A battle over British identity and the nation's flag is just the latest issue to widen the political divide in the United Kingdom in 2025. As the Labour government continues to face growing criticism over a number of issues, from cracking down on free speech to its migration policies, many Britons are concerned about their country's future.
The issue simmered over the summer amid concerns of a growing rift between the ruling elites and members of the public centered on the nation’s flag. The debate, while ongoing for several years, gained new life since anti-Israel protests erupted after Hamas’ mass terror attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Britain saw a proliferation of Palestinian flags across the country.
Tensions were further heightened over the display of Palestinian flags on public buildings, with critics arguing it represents an abandonment of traditional British values, and that immigrant communities are dictating community values. Several councils in major cities bowed to public pressure. Those cities — all with sizable immigrant communities — including Sheffield, Preston, Bradford and others chose to raise the Palestinian flag last month to honor the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
"There's only one flag that should be flying on public buildings in the U.K., and I include the home nations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and that's the Union flag. We need to start cohering around national stories and symbols, and the flag is the simplest, most visual, visceral way of doing that," Colin Brazier, a commentator on British culture, told Fox News Digital.
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 that councils should prioritize the Union flag.
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