GB News commentator Adam Brooks shares his disgust at action being taken by Oxfordshire County Council

There are few things more depressing than watching people in authority treat patriotism as a problem.

Just as England fans prepare to get behind their country during the World Cup, with St George’s flags appearing across streets, pubs and all over communities, Oxfordshire County Council has chosen this moment to escalate a legal battle over flags. You just couldn’t make it up.

To many ordinary people, this looks like yet another example of a modern political class that is completely detached from the country it is supposed to serve. A political class that is perfectly comfortable with fashionable causes and political campaigns like pro Palestine flags, LGBTQ flags and all their marches, but suddenly develops concerns when people want to display pride in Britain or England.

In my view, Britain has developed a strange and unhealthy relationship with its own national identity. We seem to be one of the few countries in the world where displaying the national flag can attract suspicion, criticism or accusations of extremism.

Go to America and you’ll see the Stars and Stripes everywhere.

Visit countless countries across Europe and you’ll see people proudly displaying their national colours.

Yet here in Britain, there is often an attitude among sections of the Establishment and snobby class, that patriotism is somehow embarrassing. I find that extraordinary.

For years we have been told that the Union Jack and the St George’s Cross have somehow been “weaponised” by the Right. But perhaps the real issue is far simpler. Perhaps some on the Left simply feel uncomfortable with expressions of national pride.

Because whenever ordinary working people show pride in their country, there is often a sneer that follows.

The people flying these flags are not extremists. They are not radicals. They are not dangerous.

They are mums and dads, tradesmen, pensioners, pub landlords, football fans and taxpayers who happen to love their country. That should not be controversial.

What many critics of Oxfordshire County Council find particularly frustrating is what they see as a double standard. They look around Britain and see numerous political and social causes celebrated in public spaces. Yet when it comes to the Union Jack or the St George’s Cross, there always seems to be a problem.

Whether that perception is fair or not, it is undoubtedly widespread. And timing matters.

If there was ever a moment when people are going to want to fly flags, it is during a World Cup. Communities come together. Pubs fill up. Streets are decorated and families gather around televisions. People celebrate a shared identity and support their country.

What worries me most is how disconnected decisions like this appear from the priorities of ordinary people. Families are struggling with bills. Crime remains a concern. Public services are under pressure, and yet councils seem increasingly drawn into symbolic battles that leave many residents scratching their heads.

A belief that the views, values and traditions of ordinary people are somehow less worthy than those of fashionable campaign groups.

That is why stories like this resonate far beyond Oxfordshire.

They tap into a growing feeling that too many people in positions of power look down on those who dare to be patriotic, who want secure borders, who care about their communities and who refuse to apologise for loving their country.

The Union Jack and the St George’s Cross belong to all of us. They are not symbols of hate. They are not symbols of division. They are symbols of our nation, our history and our people.

And the fact that displaying them has become controversial in modern Britain says far more about the political class than it does about the people proudly flying them.

And if you are one of these the council cites as being intimidated by our flag… you should not be in this country.