Reform councillor slams 'perverse' and 'pointless' legal threat made by council over illegal flags

A Reform UK councillor has slammed the “pointless” legal threats that Shropshire Council has made against anyone deemed to have erected flags on lampposts without permission.

The decision came after the council announced last month that it would be removing flags due to safety concerns.

Councillor David Vasmer made the announcement that legal action would be pursued during a full council meeting last week.

He said that removals will begin in Shrewsbury before moving to all unauthorised flags across Shropshire in the coming months.

In response, the deputy leader of Shropshire Council’s Reform group, Brendan Mallon, told GB News: “From our perspective, the administration has been quite inconsistent on the matter.

“Last Autumn, Shropshire Council’s Lib Dem Deputy Leader Councillor Alex Wagner made a very welcome and supportive statement: ‘I absolutely recognise the pride many residents feel… The Union Jack and the Cross of St George are powerful symbols of our shared heritage and I do not consider them offensive in any way.’

“He went on to caution that public flag flying should be conducted responsibly, that the flags should be mounted in a safe manner and that tatty flags should be removed or replaced, in order to avoid expense being incurred by Shropshire Council. This was an eminently sensible and pragmatic position.

“As far as we are concerned, those circumstances have not changed. The flags flying in Shropshire are mounted securely in safe locations and well-maintained.

"The claim that they are being deployed to intimidate particular groups or communities has never been substantiated.”

Councillor Mallon reinforced to the People’s Channel that, “If individuals are verbally abusing or intimidating Council staff, Councillors or members of the public, then appropriate action should be taken against that individual.

“That is not a pretext to effectively criminalise other, law-abiding individuals, engaged in a practice that Shropshire Council itself endorsed just eight months ago, nor to criminalise the act of flying one’s national flags which would be problematic to say the least."

He continued to say: “The idea that the Council will spend money we simply don’t have, during a declared financial emergency, on pointless legal actions is perverse.

“I have sat in Planning Committee meetings where Council legal officers have repeatedly cautioned committee members about the potential legal costs if a large property developer takes legal action if we reject their plans, yet they are very happy now to fund legal cases against individual citizens?

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“As the largest opposition party, Shropshire Reform UK have been consistently pressuring the Administration to focus on prudent spending, cost minimisation and prioritisation of policies that support economic growth.”

He concluded to GB News: “This campaign against the flag-flyers constitutes expensive displacement activity at a time when the administration and its officers should be prioritising our exit from that financial emergency.”

Shropshire Council has recently increased council tax for residents by nine per cent as it aims to cut expenditure and balance its budget.

During their announcement in April, the Council said that when they last removed flags, due to damage by Storm Amy, it had cost £13,000.

When contacted by GB News, Shropshire Council directed us to the statement made by Councillor Vasmer during the meeting last week in which he said: “As an administration, we do share your concerns about this very seriously.

“To reiterate, across our communities, we recognise there are a range of views about the flags, as a council we respect these different views, our aim as a council is to balance these different views, while keeping our residents and public spaces safe, respectful and compliant with policy.

“We therefore have made our position on flags clear, we support the Union Flag and putting up the Union Flag is not a hate crime, we have never said it was.

“What we do not support is the unauthorised attachment of flags, or any other objects being attached to street lighting, highway infrastructure or other public street furniture due to health and safety issues.”

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