Why I fear Birmingham's roundabout flags signal division: National pride or naked nationalism?

I’m reminded of Johnson’s thoughts on patriotism given the attention that’s been given to the number of flags appearing around Birmingham in recent weeks.

What, many ask, is the real reason we’re seeing so many flags appearing around the city?

Crucially, is the tendency to fly flags simply an indication of a desire to be proud of Britain or, as some contend, something more deeply malevolent among some parts of the community who, to quote parlance used by politicians a couple of years ago, feel they’ve been left behind?

Flags, it should be acknowledged, are loaded with a particular symbolism which, of course, we see during events such as the many celebrations we enjoyed under the late Queen Elizabeth II and much in evidence when the England football team are playing.

The connection with football, most particularly the right-wing elements and thuggery attached to a tiny minority of England supporters, is arguably the main reason why the proliferation of England flags being flown around the city is causing so much concern.

Given the propensity for outrageous violence to be perpetrated by the tiny number of vicious individuals who tend to wrap themselves in the England flag, there’s a natural assumption that every time another cross of St George appears, it represents an extension of this attitude.

This belief, I believe, though unfair, has grains of truth in that what we’re undoubtedly witnessing is a fermentation of the nationalistic fervour that exists beneath the surface in all communities but, every so often, bubbles over.

I distinctly remember the anti-Argentinian feelings that were whipped up during the grubby war that occurred as a consequence of the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982 and the glee of headline writers at the deaths of ‘Argies’, a fair number of whom were conscripts.

Significantly, there was an exhortation to fly the union flag, created as a symbol of the unity of the four countries which constitute the United Kingdom.

As one sage I recall wrote at the time, this conflict lit the landscape like the beacon of a lighthouse and exposed a form of xenophobia we’re all vaguely aware exists but, because we aren’t overtly exposed to it regularly, choose to present as unimportant.

Coincidentally and intriguingly, a few years ago when I was launching a book I’d edited on Brexit and Northern Ireland and the potential of our leaving the EU to undermine the all too fragile peace achieved there under the Good Friday Agreement, a political commentator described the Falklands War as a conflict in which both sides won; the UK regained the islands, and the Argentinians were freed from a ruthlessly murderous dictatorship who’d seized them as a way to cling onto power.

So that war, apart from the 907 lives who lost their lives over the 74 days of conflict, had a good outcome, and here in Britain, the euphoria of flag waving and jingoism which accompanied the return of the task force from the South Atlantic ceased, and we all returned to what passed for normal for the majority of us.

However, as those of us who remember the early 1980s recall, for many this period was a period of intense turmoil.

Many lost their jobs as a consequence of the deindustrialisation implemented as part of the radical shake-up of manufacturing under Margaret Thatcher.

For so many hundreds of thousands of families, the loss of jobs in industry and the loss of reasonably well-paid employment was a dreadful blow from which some are still struggling to recover.

Here in Birmingham there’s still lingering resentment that the place where generations were employed has been replaced with housing their children struggle to afford.

Conservatism under Thatcher eventually led to Blairism, promising things can only get better.

Arguably, they did appear to do so, and immense change has occurred in the 43 years since the Falklands War.

Britain has become a much more multicultural and diverse society, and, according to the theory of integration, we should be far more accepting of ‘otherness’, an expression I used in my analysis of sectarianism in Northern Ireland, where, to this day, flags and symbolism are much in evidence.

However, the recent phenomenon of England and union flags being flown as an apparent proclamation of national pride suggests that all is not well.

It’s tempting to contend that the big issue affecting so many – the challenge of dealing with the cost of living – has caused many to seek to blame others for their plight.

And undoubtedly immigration, combined with the perception that others are coming to this country through the unauthorised method of using rubber dinghies to cross the English Channel, leads them to conclude they must reassert their sense of belonging and overt patriotism.

That, according to reports in some outlets, there are areas of central Birmingham in which non-British flags are being flown only increases the divide between ‘them’ and ‘us’.

So, where does this take us?

It’s to be hoped that divisions are merely temporary and that, given the warm weather of the summer seems to be at an end, we’ll all concentrate on getting ready for winter and Christmas.

However, there’s a proverbial elephant in this particular room.

At the time of writing, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party is holding its annual conference here in the city and riding high in the opinion polls.

Farage had unquestionably been a major influence in British politics in the last three decades, and his lobbying created the circumstances by which a referendum was held on our continued membership of the European Union nine years ago that’s led to the creation of economic, social and cultural divisions between ourselves and this organisation.

Otherness has firmly taken root.

Notably, Farage, a consummate populist, has achieved the position of being the man most likely to be Prime Minister after the next general election.

Should that happen, and given what he’s said recently as to his way of solving entrenched economic problems affecting so many by mirroring the policies implemented by his buddy Trump in the United States (not to forget that he’s on record as admiring war criminal Putin), will division in British society be lessened?

I fear not, and the fault lines that are already apparent will widen further with all the attendant consequences for social inequality and greater fear of otherness.

For those who want to see what this could potentially look like, take a day trip to Belfast and see what division with all of its symbolism of long-held fear of those not like us looks like.

Returning to Johnson’s quote used at the beginning of this piece, it’s important to remember he was criticising the way the word ‘patriotism’ was used by William Pitt and was considered to be sceptical of politicians describing themselves as patriots while offering ways in which improvement for all would be implemented.

Presciently, I’d suggest, Johnson’s disapproval of politicians applies to Nigel Farage in his promising of change that will make us collectively better off but will more likely lead to the sort of dysfunctional chaos we’ve seen in the US in recent months.

Worse, we’ll see even more symbolism, flag waving and patriotism, which leads to suspicion, resentment and, as occurred in Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’, conflict.

Dr Steven McCabe

Steve is Professor and Pro Vice Chancellor, DoctorateHub.

Previously, having worked for Birmingham City Council, he spent the last 35 years as an academic at Birmingham City University teaching and researching economics, management and business. Additionally, he has written extensively for edited texts examining economics and politics.

He regularly writes and comments regularly in the national and international media on politics and the economy and has published texts on quality management, benchmarking, ‘Brexit’ and its economic and social impact, the green economy and manufacturing, house prices and India’s progress since independence.