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Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
How councils tearing down England flags has sparked backlash across the country
Even a few short years ago, the prospect of the national flag being ripped down on official orders would have been unthinkable. Yet, that's exactly what is happening in our two biggest cities, London and Birmingham. Yesterday, as our pictures show, came the extraordinary spectacle of council workers using extendable shears to remove St George's Cross flags from lamp posts in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets. Now, the same battle lines are being drawn in Newcastle, Bradford, Norwich, Swindon and elsewhere – as Britons show their patriotic pride. And town halls threaten to provoke fury in response. Tensions bubbled over in Tower Hamlets yesterday when, around midday at Marsh Wall on the Isle of Dogs, a two-man team from the council spent several hours cutting down Union and St George flags. One of the employees, who gave his name only as Tyrone, told the Daily Mail: 'I was sent here by my managers to take these flags down. 'I don't know the significance of these flags but I've been taking them down and getting abuse by people who are telling me to 'leave it!'. 'They ask me 'what has Britain become?', and say 'don't take them down' and tell me 'the mayor's a w*****'. 'And they get annoyed because they say the Palestinian flags were left up for weeks and months, but the English flags have been removed straight away. 'But I'm just doing my job and I'm not going to let them hinder me from what I am doing.' With his workmate tiring of the abuse and keen to call it a day, Tyrone admitted it might be wiser to 'come back tomorrow around 6.30am to remove the rest when there aren't so many people around who will get upset'. One local, who claimed he was among a group of around 20 responsible for erecting the flags, was seen arguing with a council manager and threatening to report him for 'theft'. He said: 'You're on the frontline being made to look like a complete and utter idiot after the whole of the Isle of Dogs has paid for these flags to be hung. That's theft!' None of it makes for a pretty sight. The council workers are little more than cannon fodder – abused for doing the dirty work of the political classes and the faceless mandarins. And nor is it easy to dismiss the locals' dismay and anger at the sight of their national flags being dumped into a refuse lorry. Adding insult to injury is the contrasting reverence they say has been shown to the Palestinian flag. Of course, there is no way of avoiding the fact that Tower Hamlets has the highest Muslim population at just under 40 per cent – of all council boroughs in England and Wales. One local, who claimed he was among a group of around 20 responsible for erecting the flags, was seen arguing with a council manager and threatening to report him for 'theft' The concentration of Muslim residents is high in Birmingham, also, at nearly 30 per cent. And that is where the campaign to fly British and English flags – much of it now organised online – emerged. For weeks St George's flags have been flown in areas including Weoley Castle, Northfield and Selly Oak, erected by groups of patriotic locals. Last week Birmingham City Council announced plans to upgrade street lights with energy efficient LEDs. It would have been an uncontroversial press release were it not for the line that the works would require the removal of 'advertising banners and flags' from lamp posts. These 'unauthorised attachments' could put the lives of passers-by and motorists 'at risk', the Labour-run authority claimed, adding that flags could 'weaken' the structural integrity of lamp posts 'potentially leading to collapse'. But was the timing a coincidence? Many believe the council is using the upgrade as a fig leaf to remove such visible expressions of national identity, expressions that could prove awkward in a multicultural city. Yet their apparent squeamishness over English and British flags is not applied to the Palestinian standard, which has flown from lamp posts in areas including Sparkhill, since, the Daily Mail understands, the October 7 attack on Israel in 2023. The black, white, green and red of Palestine is a familiar sight in Sparkhill, an inner-city suburb with a Muslim population of 79 per cent. The parade of grim-looking shopfronts is an almost endless series of halal food specialists, Islamic dress retailers and immigration lawyers. The black, white, green and red of Palestine is a familiar sight in Sparkhill (pictured), an inner-city suburb with a Muslim population of 79 per cent. The parade of grim-looking shopfronts is an almost endless series of halal food specialists, Islamic dress retailers and immigration lawyers Yet the streetscape is the least of its problems. With more than a dozen convicted Islamic terrorists hailing from here, Sparkhill has been seldom off the radar of the police and MI5 in the past 20 years. In the most notorious case, Irfan Naseer led a plot to detonate up to ten suicide bombs and timed explosives in crowded places. He received a life sentence in 2013 with a minimum term of 18 years, while two conspirators were also handed lengthy jail terms. It was also reported in 2020 that extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir – banned as a terrorist group in January 2024 – set up a base to recruit Muslim youths in Sparkhill. Against that backdrop, it may come as a surprise that several locals who spoke to the Daily Mail believed their fellow Birmingham residents should be allowed to fly their Union and St George flags without any council interference. One resident, Ibrar Khan, 29, originally from Pakistan, said: 'If the flags are lawful then they should keep them up.' Ahmed Haji Khan, 34, also a Pakistani national who has lived in Sparkhill for 15 years, said: 'It's their country... They should hang the flag. They have every right. The council should allow it.' Nazakat Khan, who is of Pakistani origin, moved to the UK just before Brexit. He said: 'Everyone here supports Palestine, that's why the flags are here.' When told about the English and British flags, Mr Khan was more cautious. He said: 'These two issues are not the same. One is to support a cause where people are dying.' But he added: 'If putting up the British flags are within the law, then they should put them up. We should all have the same law.' The support for flag-flying is understandable in areas in which the Palestinian flag has flown for several months. Three miles away on the main street of the Alum Rock area, where the Muslim population is 83 per cent, a Palestinian flag could be seen about every 100 yards. At the Chaiwalla cafe, a waitress said: 'These flags have been here since October 7 [2023], to be honest. 'Everyone supports Palestine here. People would get very angry if you took them off.' So spooked has the council been by the prospect that an internal email from staff, seen by the Daily Mail, reveals a police presence would be needed. Council cabinet member Majid Mahmood said of the Palestinian flags hanging from lamp posts in February: 'We are taking these down, but we need the support of the police due to issues that have cropped [up] when we first tried to take them down.' What those 'issues' are remains unclear. Mr Mahmood did not respond to our calls but a council spokesman said all flags, including Palestinian ones, are routinely taken down. This is despite locals in Alum Rock and Sparkhill telling the Daily Mail they have been up on lamp posts for months or even years. The spokesman said: 'We have removed Palestinian flags along with other attachments. With homegrown anti-British sentiment on the rise, the city council announcement was delivered at a particularly sensitive juncture. It also came against growing cultural tensions over mass migration Back in Birmingham, the flags started springing up last month in Weoley Castle – in the south-west of the city – before spreading to Northfield, Selly Oak, Bartley Green and other districts. It is estimated that around 1,500 have been put up so far 'Unfortunately, some items are replaced after we have removed them... On some occasions, the council has had to request police assistance when removing a variety of items. This is not limited to Palestinian flags.' Elsewhere in Birmingham, locals are angry at the prospect of their UK flags being removed. With homegrown anti-British sentiment on the rise, the city council announcement was delivered at a particularly sensitive juncture. It also came against growing cultural tensions over mass migration. Local mothers led protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which was housing an Ethiopian asylum seeker charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl. Other demonstrations have been held outside migrant accommodation in Newcastle, the Norfolk town of Diss and the right-on north London enclave of Islington. Back in Birmingham, the flags started springing up last month in Weoley Castle – in the south-west of the city – before spreading to Northfield, Selly Oak, Bartley Green and other districts. It is estimated that around 1,500 have been put up so far. When the Daily Mail visited the city, feelings were running high over the council warning. 'I think it's an absolute disgrace,' said James Edwards, who lives in the suburb where the renewed show of national pride first emerged. The 39-year-old added: 'It's been lovely to see the flags out and they've made a lot of people happy.' Several locals who spoke to the Daily Mail believed their fellow Birmingham residents should be allowed to fly their Union and St George flags without any council interference. Ibrar Khan, 29, originally from Pakistan, said: 'If the flags are lawful then they should keep them up' Another Weoley Castle local, Yolanda Nevers, 59, said: 'I really don't see what the problem is. The flags aren't doing any harm at all.' The largely anonymous group behind the campaign, who call themselves the Weoley Warriors, have posted on social media about their 'common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements'. Their Facebook page states: 'No matter your background, race or religion we live side-by-side in this country, so when you look up [and] see the flags fly, they fly for you.' By yesterday evening, its online fundraising tally had reached more than £10,600 to pay for 'flags, poles and cable ties'. One donor posted a note that read: 'Symbols of hope everywhere, thanks guys.' Not everyone has been so complimentary, though. One dissenting voice said: 'It's dressed up as pride in the flag but it plays right into the hands of racists who think they can decide who counts as British and who doesn't.' But representing the Weoley group, Matt Glover – also a campaigner for justice for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombing victims and their families – told Birmingham Live: 'We are working class people, not just white people – what we have in common is we are all proud of our flag and country, but people assume that makes us racist. 'This is the flag flown on government buildings, on Buckingham Palace, everywhere, and it's the flag our troops fight under, yet somehow we [are made to feel we] should be ashamed of it.' The father of four continued: 'We are fed up of illegal immigration, of two-tier policing; of our own people not being able to get homes before foreign nationals.' Suddenly, the lowering of these flags has become a lightning rod for the febrile debate over immigration. And as long as councils pull them down it's hard not to see the protests growing ever more vocal.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Scottish council strikes averted as unions back pay offer
All three major council unions have accepted a two-year pay deal without taking industrial action for the first time in three years. Unite and GMB voted in favour of the offer for council staff, which would see them get a rise of 4% this year and 3.5% in 2026/ pay offer covers almost all council workers apart from - the biggest council union - also accepted the offer from Cosla earlier this week, lifting the threat of strikes. The union, which represents more than 80,000 workers across the country, had launched a strike ballot earlier this year but it was superseded by the most recent Scotland had also warned the Clyde Tunnel, one of Scotland's most important road links, could close after control room workers voted to strike in had overwhelmingly rejected the previous offer, but have now returned a 66% vote in favour of the two-year pay deal. Keir Greenaway, GMB's senior organiser in public service, said the ballot result showed the offer was acceptable but had not done enough for the lowest paid workers. He said: "We argued and will continue to argue for pay offers to be a flat increase to the hourly rate of every council worker."A percentage increase means the highest-paid council staff will receive thousands of pounds more each year while frontline workers get pennies more each hour."This offer does not do enough for them and it does not do enough to reach a minimum wage of £15 an hour which ministers continue to insist is their ambition."Unite's ballot returned a 77% vote in favour of accepting the McNab, Unite's lead negotiator for local government, said: "Scottish council workers have given their backing to a decent pay rise covering the next two years. "We are pleased the negotiations were held in a far more productive way this year than in the past and this should set a benchmark for future years." Risk of strikes over Pay is negotiated at a national level between Cosla and the main unions, and any pay offer has to be affordable for all 32 councils. Council staff in many parts of Scotland went on strike in 2022 and 2023 over pay. In 2022, action led to rubbish piling up in the centre of Edinburgh during the festival while in 2023 there were widespread school closures because janitors were on strike. Both disputes were only resolved after the Scottish government provided more money for councils. Last year, council staff were awarded a pay rise to see off the threat of bin strikes even though the offer was rejected by and GMB accepted the pay offer - an increase of either 3.6% or £1, Unison argued more needed to be done to address what it described as the long-term decline in the value of council pay and mandated strike year 83% of Unison members voted to accept Cosla's most recent pay offer. The union's local government committee chair Suzanne Gens said: "This pay deal is a crucial step in turning round cuts to council staff pay."It gives local government workers some financial security now they know their pay will be higher than inflation over the next couple of years."Cosla said the agreement would bring "a welcome period of stability and certainty" about pay for the workforce.A spokesperson said: "Councils are now able to take forward work to get the pay increase of 7.64% over the two-year period into the pockets of our workforce."While the agreement will have come too late for most councils' July pay runs we know that payroll teams locally will be working hard to implement the uplift and any backpay due in the next months." There will be relief all round that a two-year council pay deal has been accepted by members of all three big council past few years have seen industrial action over pay – some of it massively often had to ask the Scottish government for extra money to help resolve the disputes and improve the pay year the mere threat of action led to a two-year pay deal, the unions believe, helps restore the value of council workers salaries which have fallen in real terms over the will be pleased industrial action has been unnecessary – it is always the last will be pleased too that there is no risk of services being the Scottish government knows there is no possibility of a widespread council strike in the run up to next year's Holyrood unions have longstanding concerns about the value of council salaries and the wages of the lowest paid. They will be looking for further progress in future pay rounds.
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘It was such an obvious thing to do': Pedestrians and cyclists reclaim Dublin's Parliament Street
Under cover of night on Thursday and into the early hours of Friday, Dublin 's Parliament Street, which runs from City Hall on Dame Street to the south Liffey quays, was transformed. Where previously pedestrians were crammed into narrow footpaths and cyclists competed with two lanes of cars and vans, the area appeared suddenly to have exhaled, with people spilling into the middle of the newly claimed street. A dry night on Thursday allowed council workers to achieve the remarkably quick installation of two-way cyclepaths, new road markings, traffic signage and strategic planters and bollards, all the way from the end of Capel Street , across Grattan Bridge and on to Parliament Street. From 6am the first section of Parliament Street, from the quayside to Essex Gate/Essex Street East – the only cross-street which runs through Parliament Street – was entirely traffic-free. READ MORE Motorists crossing Grattan Bridge from the northside are now required to turn right on to the south quays. Council workers were on hand to direct the small number of drivers who were not content to follow the clear signage and thought they might be able to squeeze their way through from Essex Quay, despite flower boxes and bollards being obvious obstacles. Some blocked the quays to argue they had to get through for deliveries, which they were quickly assured they could do, with a very short detour on to Fishamble Street and then Exchange Street Lower to reach Essex Gate and Essex Street East, which is remaining open to traffic. Deliveries are also permitted in the section of Parliament Street between Essex Street and Dame Street from 6am-11am. Shortly after 11am, another council worker arrived with bollards to prevent any further entry, making both sections of street, north and south of Essex Street, traffic-free. He will make another trip before 6am to remove the same bollards. These will eventually be replaced with automated bollards, Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said. 'These will lower automatically for emergency vehicles but make it impossible for non-emergency vehicles to enter the space,' he said. More work will be done in the weeks ahead to improve the look and feel of Parliament Street, says Claire French, senior executive engineer with Dublin City Council. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Overall, he felt the street 'looks very well' but perhaps additional work could be undertaken to calm cars coming from Essex Gate. More work will be done in the weeks ahead to improve the look and feel of Parliament Street, said Claire French, senior executive engineer with Dublin City Council . 'From Monday, we will start upgrading the street with the installation of seating and planting. We will be resurfacing the road with the buff-coloured surface and in time if will have a similar appearance to Capel Street.' The removal traffic from most of Capel Street since 2022 resulted in a significant drop in cars crossing the river into Parliament Street, French said, justifying the reallocation of space to pedestrians and cyclists. 'On a Saturday you would have 23,000 pedestrians on Parliament Street – that's a lot – but only 1,800 cars using the street on a daily basis, it really was out of balance so what we have done is rebalanced the space.' Siobhán Conmy, owner of bar Street 66, has for several years campaigned for the traffic to be removed from the street. 'We had wanted it to be done at the same time as Capel Street, I'm really excited now to have it finally in,' she said. 'When you look at the lovely backdrop of City Hall and the tree-lined vista right the way down to the river and across to Capel Street, it was such an obvious thing to do.' Conmy said she understood the retention of traffic on Essex Gate and Essex Street East. 'There are apartments above and behind, so they have to have access, it's only fair.' The Temple Bar Company organised a market on Parliament Street on Friday. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Derek McCauley is one of the few business owners on Parliament Street who is also a resident, having converted the space above his wine bar, Café Rubis, from a Turkish/Engilsh college to an apartment in 2014. 'I'm looking forward to this but with a small amount of anxiety over the possibility that there will be an increase in antisocial behaviour at night time,' he said. 'I'm also a bit concerned about the deliveries in the morning. There are four pubs on this street, and if the footpath is being widened and they all going to be getting deliveries of kegs of beer in the early morning, I'm not sure there's going to be the space for all of that.' However, he said he hoped the change would draw more tourism to Parliament Street. 'I am very positive about it overall. I think it will improve business on the street.' Martin Harte, chief executive of business representative group Temple Bar Company, which organised a market on the street on Friday, with further events and street performances planned over the weekend and through the summer, says reclaiming the street from traffic will draw tourists. 'I can remember 20 years ago where there were articulated trucks trundling up this street every day. It is now a calm space designed for people. I think this is one of the greatest days Temple Bar has seen in a long time.'
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cumberland Council to launch new campaign to stop worker abuse
A fresh campaign aimed at stopping council staff being abused by the public has been announced, after incidents almost doubled in a reports included one worker being pushed down an embankment and another nearly being crushed when a lorry drove through a closed Council's assistant director of highways and transport, Karl Melville, said staff "have the right to go to work, do their job and come home without being abused".Last year, a similar campaign featured posters of council workers' children placed near roadworks, to remind drivers that those working there have families. Incidents of abuse also saw council staff fitted with a recent council meeting, Mr Melville told members a lorry went through a road closure at a bridge in Sebergham, nearly crushing one of the workers on the bridge, while in a separate incident a vehicle travelled through a road closure and collided with the back of a to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, monthly figures showed incidents of council workers being abused shot up from 34 in March to 64 in April. Mr Melville said the council has "also had situations where half-eaten food has been thrown at our staff while they're doing their work"."That's totally unacceptable," he of the council Mark Fryer said staff safety was a priority, adding the Labour-led council would look at taking private prosecutions "if the police think that it isn't worthy"."We've got to look after our people," Fryer new campaign will be launched over the summer. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Sydney footpath feud erupts: Mayor's brutal ultimatum for restaurateur who told council 'henchmen' to get stuffed
A Lord Mayor has lashed out at the 'torrent of abuse' council workers received from a business owner when they interrupted dinner service. Two officers for the City of Sydney visited busy Potts Point eatery Lady Chu on Friday evening to tell the owner to move her potted palm trees immediately. An explosive argument ensued, caught on video by a staff member, in which restaurateur Nahji Chu said she would rather 'go to jail' than follow with their orders. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore took to social media on Wednesday to unleash on Ms Chu for her treatment of the staff. 'We have repeatedly asked Lady Chu to remove some of the unapproved planters or the umbrellas to ensure there is enough space for pedestrians,' she said. 'It's not a private courtyard, it's a public footpath – people should not be forced onto the road, especially people in a wheelchair or with a pram.' Ms Moore said council received a complaint on Friday and visited Lady Chu to advise which items were an 'issue' and 'respectfully ask' for them to be removed as soon as possible. 'Unfortunately they then received a torrent of abuse that was then published on social media.' During the showdown, Ms Chu told one officer: 'This is 'f***ed up, this whole city is f***ed up.' 'I'm not a f***ing naughty school kid, so don't speak to me like that. 'I'm paying f***ing taxes and I'm paying your wages, so f*** off. I'm trying to activate this f***ing dead city, so don't shut it down.' She told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday: 'They wouldn't leave, that's why I went nuts. 'Drop a bomb at 7pm then expect me to remain calm? 'There is no fun in this city, you can't do anything or you face a fine. 'No one even leaves their house any more - they just work to make money and go and spend it overseas where they can get culture and have a good time.' The upset was over the footpath area which has been used as an outdoor option for Ms Chu's customers from Wednesday to Sunday until 9.30pm. The Lord Mayor said the council had approved two applications from Ms Chu to expand the outdoor space since March. This provided seating for roughly 70 patrons but also suitable room for pedestrians to walk through, Ms Moore said. 'But we have received ongoing complaints about additional furniture, umbrellas and large planters obstructing the footpath. 'Our planning staff have met with Lady Chu multiple times. Roslyn St is narrow, and it's not possible to maintain Federal Discrimination Act accessibility standards as well as all its dining tables, planters and umbrellas. 'I commend our officers for remaining calm and professional. 'We all want to see our city buzzing. That's why we offer this space and work with businesses to enjoy it. But we must also maintain sufficient space for others.' In the video, Ms Chu pans to the walkway between her restaurant and tables asking: 'What's the f***ing problem here, you can get through, what seems to be the problem officer? 'Beautiful trees? Beautiful umbrellas? Three people can get through? 'Right now give me the f***ing fine and I will see you in court with my lawyer.'
