Labour council says flags must not be ‘surrendered’ to far right but there are concerns in town hit by racial tension
A Labour council has been accused of embracing “flag terror” after offering £500 grants to groups to erect union jack and St George’s flags in a town previously rocked by racial tension.
The leaders of Rotherham council, in South Yorkshire, said they wanted the flags to be a “symbol of unity” and did not want to “surrender them to extremist or far-right groups”.
However, it comes at a time of growing concern across Britain about rising ethno-nationalism and intimidation after thousands of national flags were erected by groups with links to rightwing figures.
Rotherham was the scene of one of the worst cases of civil disorder in recent history in 2024 when demonstrators tried to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers as race-fuelled riots spread across England.
