What's fascist about a national flag?
Sunday, September 7, 2025Wherever you are in England right now, you're probably not too far away from an England (that is the red-and-white St. George's cross) flag. They're being spray-painted on roads and signs, they're flown outside people's houses, and on street furniture like lampposts. There are at least six flags on my street right now. This is thanks to a campaign called “Raise The Colours”, which many identify as being far-right. However, in comment sections around the web, I've seen people asking “How can displaying a national flag be fascist?”. Whether this is being asked in good faith or not, the answer is pretty simple:
The national flag is fascist because it is being used by fascists.
Displaying any flag is going to have different meanings in different times and places. A national flag is not inherently fascist. In many countries, the national flag does not have overt political coding, or it may be used to signify a kind of civic nationalism (Scotland), resistance (Palestine), or it may even have socialist connotations (China, Vietnam, etc). In some countries national flags are so common you can't really determine anyone's politics by their attitude toward it.
But we're talking about England in the year 2025, at a time when a far-right party could win the next general election, with rising anti-immigrant sentiment stoked by the right-wing media's and politicians' fearmongering about the “national crisis” that is being wreaked on the country by refugees in small boats. Many of those promoting the flag campaign are known far-right groups and figures like Britain First and Tommy Robinson. Therefore, the flag is absolutely being used as a fascist symbol.
Not everybody “raising the colours” is an outright fascist or racist. If your grandma put a flag in her garden, I'm not saying she's necessarily a member of the EDL. Perhaps some are just naïve. But make no mistake, at the moment, every flag on every lamppost is making fascists feel more at home, more empowered, and more like the country is on their side. Don't play into their hands by treating it as politically neutral.