The Labour Party has flag problem

Labour Party activists in England have complained about the Union Flags plastered all over the party literature that is being distributed prior to the English local and mayoral election on 2nd May.

They worry that British and Minority Ethnic (BAME) voters might associate it with the far right.

Some commentators, however, took to Twitter to point out that it is also the wrong flag for the context in which it being used (the English local elections). Dr Simon Lee (a politics lecturer at the University of Hull) had this to say: 

@Keir_Starmer and @RishiSunak's rush to intervene in the #England football shirts row illustrated how British nationalism seeks to confine expressions of English national identity to sport/culture,rather than questions of power,representation, governance and policy.#sayEngland

— DR SIMON LEE (@ENGLISHFUTURES) March 30, 2024

Prof John Denham (former Labour MP) echoed this sentiment:

To me a bigger problem is that Labour insists on the British flag in England but does not use the flag in the same way in Wales and Scotland. Not only marginalises England but also promotes
idea that only England speaks as Britain.

— John Denham (@JYDenham) March 30, 2024

The almost total avoidance of the flag of England from Labour Party campaigning (when contrasted with their use of the Scottish and Welsh national flags in those nations) does indicate that Labour are uncomfortable with political expressions of English identity.