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Cllr Andy McGuinness said at a council meeting on Wednesday, October 15, that the Labour-run borough council should work with the county council to take down flags “displayed illegally” and give them to local arts and community organisations to “create artworks, flag displays and murals in appropriate places”.
The plan was rejected by the Labour administration, with cabinet members saying they agreed with the “sentiment” of the proposals but not their “flawed execution”.
Cllr McGuinness said Operation Raise the Colours, which saw members of the public put up flags around parts of Stevenage this summer, is “predicated on nationalism, not on patriotism, on division, not on unity”.
He continued: “You only have to look at the national and, I’m really sorry to say, local Facebook groups to see the truth of this, including the most sickening, gut-wrenching, racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic propaganda.”
Describing himself as a “very, very proud patriot” and “a big flagwaver”, Cllr McGuinness said: “To be honest, when I first saw some of the large number of flags being flown in my ward … honestly, my first reaction … was that looks pretty good.
“But that feeling soon abated when I knew why they were put there and what those that did so sought to achieve.
“The flying of these flags started over the summer, not out of a sense of pride or community cohesion … but borne out of misplaced nationalism.
“Our national symbols, which we all own, should never be used to intimidate, nor make anyone feel uncomfortable – to do so, for me, is just un-British.
“I fear – and it is my genuine fear – that our flags are being used against us, to sow the false narrative that those who complain or dislike them are somehow unpatriotic.”
Earlier this year, Stevenage Borough Council said its policy is not to remove flags on land it owns, except where they pose a public safety issue.
Cllr Tom Plater, the council’s cabinet member for stronger communities, said, though, that residents must seek permission before flying flags on council-owned property.
Most of the flags put up by members of the public this summer are on land owned by Lib Dem-run Hertfordshire County Council, which has said they will be removed.
The leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Cllr Stephen Booth, suggested the unauthorised flags could cause an accident if they became “tattier” and landed on a car windscreen, while his party colleague Cllr Tom Wren said the flags are “being put up by far right groups”.
Cllr Wren added that he had been “contacted by numerous individuals since these have been going up concerned about the message they are portraying and how it makes them feel”.
The Labour leader of the council, Cllr Richard Henry, said he also “gets regular emails from concerned individuals and communities about intimidation that’s going on in our town”.
But both Cllr Henry and Cllr Plater said that they agreed with the “sentiment” of the Liberal Democrat calls but could not vote for their motion.
Cllr Plater said that the council “already has a clear policy” on flags and cautioned against the idea of creating artworks that would be “mandated” by politicians.
He said: “Our national flag belongs to everyone in Stevenage. It represents unity, not division, and this council will always stand up for our communities.
“We proudly fly the national flag at our civic buildings, and we are ensuring that any display on council-owned infrastructure is safe, respectful and appropriate.”
Another Labour representative, Cllr Nigel Williams, said: “What really upsets me about people who think they are patriots is that they fly the Union flag upside down.
“In the High Street, not one of the flags put up on the lampposts is up the right way.”
The Lib Dem motion was also opposed by Cllr Mason Humberstone (Reform UK), who said it was “disappointing though sadly not surprising” that other councillors “seem uncomfortable with a simple display of patriotism”.
He continued: “Our national flag is a symbol of pride, unity and shared identity. It represents the freedoms that we enjoy and the values that bind us together.
“We should all be proud to see our flag flown, not embarrassed by it.
“Yet this motion proposes taking our flags down, as if our national pride is something to be managed or hidden away. That’s not unity, that’s appeasement.
“I urge every resident to fly our flags proudly and wherever they wish. Reform supports you.”
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