Photo credit: the Guardian
National flags are appearing on flyovers and lampposts across the country amid a wave of anti-migrant protests.
Politico reports that outside the headquarters of Norwich’s municipal government on Wednesday evening, anti-immigration protesters gathered to make their voices heard.
Many in the crowd of about 120 are either waving or are wrapped in the red-and-white Saint George’s Cross or the Union Jack. Some were chanting “send them home”, while others had harsh words for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a government struggling to stop undocumented migrants arriving on UK shores in small boats.
One of them said, Jake said, “I will never stop raising my flag, and never stop celebrating my culture.”
An online campaign-#OperationRaisetheColours-has prompted a guerrilla movement that has seen St. George’s Cross and Union Jack flags hung from hundreds of lampposts in towns and cities across the country. Red crosses have been painted on white mini-roundabouts, and flyovers along some of Britain’s main arterial routes have been adorned.
It’s a striking development where flag-flying is usually reserved for special occasions such as sports tournaments, royal weddings and military anniversaries. For some, the timing of the initiative in the midst of a politically-charged summer of anti-migrant protests has set off loud alarm bells.
The Hope not Hate advocacy said a number of the campaign organizers have links to far-right activists.
In Norwich, a similarly sized counter-protest crowd were flying two Palestinian flags.
