Why is the England flag so controversial?

None of the British national flags is debated quite as much as England's St George's Cross. While the flags of Scotland and Wales are a source of great national pride, the English red and white cross remains hugely divisive, due to long-standing associations with the far-right and football hooliganism.

The English flag was again at the centre of controversy in May when the jigsaw manufacturer, Gibsons Games, asked artist Mike Jupp to remove it from a design "as part of a diversity and inclusion drive", said the Daily Mail. Jupp described the move as "woke", but the firm said it had "acted in line" with its "values".

Reform UK, which recently gained control of 10 English councils, hope to increase the flag's prominence by banning "local authorities from flying any flags aside from the Union Jack or the St George's Cross in councils they control", said Sky News. The move "quickly drew criticism from across the political divide", with many lambasting the party for potentially blocking the use of regional standards. The party later clarified that county flags would still be permitted.

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But why exactly does the St George’s Cross remain so controversial?

Who was St George?

Chosen as England’s patron saint in 1350 by King Edward III, the historical St George was a Greek-speaking Roman soldier born in modern-day Turkey who never actually set foot on British shores. St George's Day, on 23 April, marks the date of his execution in 303 for refusing to recant his Christianity.

He was popular among European knights for his bravery, and some have suggested that his overseas origins "gave George an advantage over other saints, as it meant that he wasn't associated with any particular region of the country", said the Mirror. "There would be no regional rivalry, and so everyone in England could unite behind St George."

St George is also the patron saint of Catalonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Moscow, Istanbul and Genoa, although not all have adopted his red and white banner.

Why is it so controversial to fly the St George's Cross?

A 2024 YouGov survey of just over 2,000 people examined how Britons viewed flying the English flag, which "has been at the centre of several rows in recent years", it said. It actually found that, despite the aforementioned associations, 57% of those polled had a favourable view of flying the St George's Cross. However, a higher proportion (27%) found flying the English flag unfavourable compared to the Scottish flag (19%) and Welsh flag (18%).

A similar survey in 2012 carried out by the think tank British Future as part of a report into how people around the UK viewed their national identity, revealed almost a quarter (24%) of the 1,479 English respondents said they considered their flag to be racist, compared to just 10% of the 556 Scots respondents and 7% of the 565 Welsh respondents. At the time, the report blamed the "extreme street hooligans of the English Defence League" for having "toxified" the St George's Cross, although it said politicians should also take responsibility for failing to "speak up for the inclusive patriotism of the English majority".

The Union Flag and the St George's Cross "have been tainted by association with the far-right", said The Independent's David Barnett during the 2018 World Cup. "Nobody seems surprised any more to see some bull-headed idiot draped in the flag and performing a Nazi salute"

"There will always be those who think that the red of England on the St George flag and the Union Jack makes for a blood-stained cloth too ingrained by history to ever be a positive thing, and that flying either standard makes you complicit in everything that has ever been bad about England and Britain," he wrote.

What is the law about flying the St George's Cross?

Changes made to regulations in 2012 widened the range of flags you may fly in Britain without the consent of local planning authorities. UK residents are currently permitted to fly any national flag or any international organisation's flag, as well as many different regional flags. Before the changes, it was illegal to fly a national flag without permission from a local council, unless flown from a vertical flagpole.

According to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, all flags must be displayed in a safe condition; have the permission of the owner of the site on which they are displayed; not obscure, or hinder the interpretation of official road, rail, waterway or aircraft signs; and be removed carefully if asked by the planning authority.

Although there is no specific offence related to flying the St George's Cross on your car, you could commit an offence if it is obstructing your view or if there is a risk that the flag could fall off and damage you or the car. In 2024, black cab drivers "called for a 'bonkers' ban on displaying patriotic material to be overturned" after Transport for London stopped them from flying the flag on their cabs "under a ban on signs and advertising", said The Telegraph.