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Spectator
4 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
What's wrong with a St George's Cross flag?
Flags have become a contentious and defining issue of this year. You only have to witness the furore that has surrounded the increasing proliferation of the Progress Pride and Palestinian flags in this country to recognise this. So it was only a matter of time before that other increasingly common sight, flags denoting pride in Englishness and Britishness, should have been drawn into the fray. As reported in the Daily Telegraph this morning, Birmingham Council has ordered the removal of Union and St George's flags from lamp posts. In response to initiatives made by residents in the fortnight approaching VJ Day to install hundreds of the flags in the predominantly white British suburbs in the south-west of city, on Tuesday the Labour-run council announced plans to remove them, claiming that they put the lives of pedestrians and motorists 'at risk'. This has legitimately aroused accusations of double standards. Critics have pointed out that Palestinian flags have flown within impunity elsewhere on the city's streets since the war in Gaza began in 2023. 'This is nothing short of a disgrace and shows utter contempt for the British people,' Lee Anderson, the Reform MP, has said. Robert Alden, leader of the authority's Conservative opposition, has added: 'Our national flags are nothing to be ashamed of. Labour rushing to rip them down is shameful.' Yet, while showing eagerness to double-down on expressions of Englishness and Britishness, this week Birmingham council has been simultaneously celebrating the heritage of its sub-continent ethnic minorities. Last night it lit up the main library in the colours of orange, green and white to mark 79 years of India's independence, hours after showing the same courtesy to Pakistan. It was perhaps inevitable that on GB News last night the council was charged with a 'two-tier' approach to community relations. It's not an unreasonable accusation, given that this approach has been an increasingly common one taken by a Labour government and judiciary desperate to placate inter-communal tensions. It's difficult to escape the conclusion that that council is indulging in another form of asymmetrical multiculturalism. In other words, yet again we're seeing an arm of the state rejoicing in the cultures of minorities but being decidedly less forthright in celebrating the culture of this country's majority. The council's protestations that such flags pose a risk to safety will strike many as dubious, given that many of these flags are up to 25ft off the ground. This excuse is doubly unconvincing given that, beginning in August 2020 in Birmingham's gay village, rainbow-coloured street crossings in the style of the Pride Progress flag have been installed in the city. Yet these have been known to pose a threat to the blind and partially-sighted, as well as being confusing for police horses. The left has always been known to shirk from symbols of patriotism out of embarrassment and guilt, so the decision by the Labour-run body is true to form. But the council's proactive policy on representation of ethnic minorities has also taken place against a backdrop of the ascendency of sectarian politics in Britain. Labour is desperate to shore up its dwindling support among British Muslims, many of whom have been alienated by its less than outspoken stance on Gaza, and a minority of whom seem to show little loyalty or affection for this country at all. Labour is also mindful of the threat posed by the yet-to-be named splinter faction led by Jeremy Corbyn, a party that will cater for alienated ethnic minorities, the far-left and an idealistic graduate class. Most importantly, Birmingham's decision has taken place at a time British society is seemingly falling-apart at the seams, appearing to teeter on the point of outright disorder. In June, David Betz, Professor of War in the Modern World in the Department of War Studies at Kings College, warned that British cities were at risk of becoming 'feral' and could even descend into civil war in the next few years. This type of rhetoric is becoming increasingly common. In April, the Daily Telegraph's Tim Stanley issued the similarly foreboding words: 'I now fear Britain is heading for open sectarian conflict, possibly war, and there's nothing we can do to stop it.' Both the emergence and profusion of flags which are proxy indicators for tribal membership and sectarian affiliation – the Palestinian flag also serves as symbol of progressive internationalism for the liberal white middle-class – and moves to suppress them are indicative of the fractious nature of British society today. No wonder a traditional left-wing attitude to the St George and Union flags is gradually shifting from shame and embarrassment towards fear, given that these icons are associated with growing indigenous resentment and restiveness, not to mention a surge in support for Reform at the polls. And that, ultimately, is what strikes terror into the hearts of the establishment today.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Birmingham has 'moral duty' to help Afghan refugees
Birmingham City Council has agreed to accept 124 new Afghan refugees into the city - a move its leader called a "moral duty".The Labour run local authority said it was willing to accommodate the refugees during 2025/26, as part of the government's Afghan Relocation Programme (ARP) to rehouse Afghan citizens who have worked for or with the UK Government in Afghanistan. Councillor Robert Alden, the council's Conservative leader, said the opposition party should focus on housing the people already in need within the at a meeting on Tuesday, councillor John Cotton said participation in the scheme was not about feeling "warm and fuzzy" but "playing our role as a global city". According to a council report, eligible individuals of the ARP scheme face particular hardship as they either furthered British interest in Afghanistan in their professional roles or have a documented record of standing up for European argued that welcoming more refugees could place a "strain" on the city's housing said: "The city has changed since 2021 [the year the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan] – the council is now bankrupt."There are tens of thousands of people on the council's waiting list for housing, there are thousands of families in temporary accommodation, people who are already here who cannot get housed properly.""This report doesn't really reflect the fact that actually that will be placing a further strain on those issues in the city."The Birmingham Conservative Group later posted on X, that the council "should focus on housing Birmingham residents".The council said in the report that it had successfully supported the successful integration of 148 Afghan families in the past with "little impact" on public services or also said relatively low rates of hate crimes had been reported by resettled families in the defended the council's plans during the meeting."I think it's very clear we have a moral duty to participate," he said. "It isn't about feeling warm and fuzzy."We welcomed people to this city for many generations," he council's cabinet approved the continued use of private sector housing and Local Authority Housing Fund properties to meet the housing needs of families arriving under the said this would help manage the risks associated with additional pressures on housing and homelessness services. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Birmingham bin collections not back to normal, politicians say
Opposition politicians have rejected claims that Birmingham's bin collections are mostly back to normal, as industrial action continues across the city. Refuse workers from the Unite union started an all-out strike in March due to a dispute with the city council over changes to roles and has attracted worldwide coverage with images of large waste piles and claims of rats as big as cats, but the council said it had cleared the vast majority of rubbish. However, speaking on the BBC's Politics Midlands programme, Birmingham's Conservative leader councillor Robert Alden and Independent MP Ayoub Khan both denied this was the case. Delayed collections during the initial weeks of the strike were down partly to picket lines blocking trucks from leaving waste facilities. Striking workers insisted they were only stopping lorries if they had safety concerns, but ugly scenes prompted Labour council leader John Cotton to condemn what he called "violence". Speaking on Friday - as a "mega picket" of union members was present at Lifford Lane depot in Kings Norton - Alden said he believed bin lorries had stalled again. He said: "What we've seen sadly over the last two weeks, since national support from the army has been withdrawn, [is that] bin lorries have not been going out again. "Indeed by the end of the week, barely any bin lorries were going out and that's leading to more rubbish starting to build up on the streets." Khan, who is a Birmingham councillor as well MP for Perry Barr, also claimed many thousands of tonnes of rubbish were still on the streets. "You see the frustration across the whole city," he said. "Recyclable material hasn't been collected."What [striking bin workers] are saying is very simple: 'We've got mortgages to pay, we've got children to raise. The cost of living is going through the roof and we just want a fair deal.'" Rachel Taylor, the Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, accused the pair of trying to score political points. "The government [has] stepped in and put their weight behind the city council to get bin lorries out and rubbish collected," she said. "There's a reasonable offer on the table and it is in the interests of all the people in Birmingham that all parties get around the table and get this sorted." Birmingham City Council said it had cleared 100% of the large piles of waste in the hot spot areas and 85% across the rest of the city. While recycling collections remain suspended, it has urged residents to continue putting out household waste bins for collection. "Before industrial action began, our crews were collecting about 1,000 to 1,100 tonnes of waste per day," the local authority's website reads. "However, in recent weeks, our crews have collected 1,500 to 1,700 tonnes of waste each day, with a reduced team."This highlights the need for transformation in the service we provide to residents." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
19-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Birmingham Council urged to improve council tax collection rate
Birmingham City Council has been urged to "drastically improve" its council tax collection rate as it looks to rebuild Labour-run authority has been forced to make unprecedented cuts to services over the past year as it grapples with a financial crisis in which it declared itself effectively bankruptCouncil tax was increased by 10% last year and residents will be hit with a 7.5% hike in April.A council performance report covering the third quarter of 2024-25 showed the council tax collection rate at that point was about 75% - below both the 75.90% recorded the previous year and its target of 78.45%. Robert Alden, leader of the council's Conservative group, said council tax collection was "really fundamental to the financial viability of the organisation going forward".He said about 1 in 10 people's council tax was not collected last year - a figure he described as "appalling" at a cabinet meeting on continued: "I would be interested to hear what cabinet are doing to actually try and drastically improve that collection rate so we can make sure the money the council is owed is collected."Karen McCarthy, cabinet member for finance, responded by saying provisional figures indicated a "continuing rise in the percentage collected"."With the caveat that those are provisional figures, I can say that they actually show a very slight improvement on the previous year which, given the year we've had, is remarkable," she April, those living in a Band D property will be charged £2,237 for the 2025/26 financial year - up from the current £2,083.76. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
