A rebel left-wing Labour and Co-operative MP has called English flags “tatty bits of cloth” and said they should be removed from lamp posts. Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central – who had the whip suspended this year after rebelling against Sir Keir Starmer – said her “stomach churned” when fellow party members waved the St George’s cross at the recent party’s conference.
Speaking at a university event, Ms Maskell said: “I personally think we need a little bit of a break from flags right now, and my stomach churned at Labour party conference when everyone got out their St George’s flag… that’s not the Labour party. “And Keir Starmer with his two Union Jacks regimented behind him… that’s not the Labour Party. “The Labour Party is the insurgent to the colonial state, you know, it’s not about owning it. “So I think having a bit of a break from flags would be therapeutic for us all in having to wrestle with this.” This comes after Sir Keir’s keynote speech in Liverpool, in which he urged members to “fly our flags”.
Ms Maskell was suspended from the Labour Whip in July this year after rebelling against Sir Keir Starmer’s welfare cuts.
In August, a campaign group launched “Operation Raise the Colours,” which advocates displaying the Union Flag and St George’s Cross in public places, including tying flags to lamp posts and painting them onto mini roundabouts. Supporters say this is to promote patriotism.
The campaign gained significant attention on social media when councils – including Tower Hamlets and Birmingham – began tearing them down. It has also found support from political party members across the political spectrum, including the Conservative Party, Reform UK, and the Labour Party.
In August, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch slammed the move by the councils as “shameful”. Writing in the Daily Mail, Ms Badenoch said the flying of English flags should be “welcomed”, rather than “seen as an act of rebellion”.
“After years of politicisation by those who seek to diminish England’s culture and Christian heritage, it is encouraging to see English flags flown proudly as symbols of unity, nationhood and optimism,” she said.
She continued: “Suppressing the English flag does not stop division. It fuels it.”
Ms Maskell told The Sun she is trying to “build unity and not division” following racist incidents in York.