Former editor of The Sun Kelvin Mackenzie takes aim at Bristol City Council's flag-hating measures

What is wrong with these people? Why do they hate the St George’s flag so much?

And why would they bow to the minority to deny the white majority, often from poorer neighbourhoods, the right to see their national flag billowing in the breeze?

I ask these simplistic questions in the light of two councils, one run by the dreadful Greens and the other by the equally awful Liberal Democrats, which are intent on tearing down the flags, which, in one area of Bristol, have literally been going up for decades whenever England is playing in an international football tournament.

As has been widely reported, the flags have festooned the length of Torrington Avenue, a street on Knowle West council estate in Bristol, every time there’s a big football event.

As you might expect, there’s plenty up right now. And the residents are mighty proud of the look it gives to the estate.

Then along comes the city council, run by the Greens, demanding they take them down, saying to the tenants that it would ‘’prioritise’’ removals of flags in "sensitive locations".

I presume that is coded language for anywhere that migrants are living.

One unnamed tenant in Torrington Avenue said: ‘’If they want a battle, they will have the whole street to deal with. If they want to create a war, it will happen.’’

I am 100 per cent behind the residents. For many years, they have shown their patriotism and their belief in the England team without a problem, only for the Lefties of the Green Party to decide they had to go.

The clue to the decision appears to be that not all the flags will come down, but those in ‘’sensitive locations’’ will.

I think it's a fair assumption that where there are migrant families living on the estate the council wants to ‘’save’’ them from the St George’s flags.

With World Cup fever everywhere, I’m sure the migrants would be putting up their own flags.

Around my way, there’s a dry-cleaners I use run by a hard-working Turkish guy who has had the shop for many years.

Surely migrants in Bristol feel the same. What possible objections could they have when they see the flag of the country which has given them a home – and a subsidised one at that?

But this anti-flag crusade doesn’t end in Bristol. Tomorrow, Oxfordshire County Council goes to the High Court to seek an injunction to stop people placing either St George’s crosses and Union flags on or near public highways.

If the injunction succeeds, anyone who puts up flags near roads in the area could face two years in prison or an unlimited fine.

Talk about over the top. The council talks about safety risks. That’s baloney. There isn’t any.

They give themselves away with this expression; ‘’Distress within communities.’’

Once again, I imagine they are talking about migrants. Is the council saying they that migrants disliking our flag is a good enough reason to take it down and put the offender into jail?

Many of these people came here illegally. The democratically elected council has no right to listen to their complaints.

It’s actions like this which make me certain that Makerfield was a freak result.

It was simply a vehicle to get Keir Starmer out and come the General Election any party which fights for our flag will be rewarded with victory.