Open letter to Barry Lewis, the Leader of Sutton Council, regarding our national flag on our high street

This open letter is a response to Cllr. Lewis’s open letter. I’ll publish the response should I receive one in the comments below.

Dear Barry,

I feel compelled to write to you since we both care about Sutton — I have “only” lived in Sutton for over 20 years now, raised my children here, and have no doubt you hold the best interests of Sutton and its residents in your heart. I was, however, troubled by your open letter. You write:

Over the past week, you may have seen the Union Flag appearing on lampposts across many of our high streets. The Union Flag is a symbol of our civic pride and unity — something I experienced at the many events I attended. It’s great that so many people want to fly them to celebrate Sutton and our country.

Indeed. As someone who wasn’t born in this country but chose to adopt it as my home over 20 years ago, the Union Flag for me is first and foremost a symbol of the united nation of Great Britain, the rule of law, democracy, toleration, civilisation and the good old English common sense, best manifested in the English common law. The Union Flag is a good thing, to put it simply. It is something to be proud of.

I hope you would agree that a national flag is, and ought to be, a treasured and respected symbol of national identity and unity, not least because generations of British — and non-British — men and women have fought and died defending the country and the values that it represents — and you seem to do so:

As for the Union Flag, we will still continue to fly it on our flagpole in Sutton’s main high street and on our civic buildings as a symbol of our pride and unity.

You then inexplicably and, I hope you will excuse me, incoherently, go on to say that

Some residents have also been in touch with me because seeing the flags in places where they wouldn’t expect to see them has made them feel uneasy. For all these reasons we are taking unauthorised flags down. [emphasis added]

There are so many problems with this short sentence, its assumptions and its implications. Let me address just some of them.

What sort of resident feels uneasy about the national flag of the country they are living in? Feeling uneasy is not a rational foundation for public policy or decision-making, generally speaking.

Why did it make them uneasy? How many of them? Two? Three? And if the reasons it made them uneasy are not good public reasons for making public policy, why are you taking these bad reasons into account?

It makes me very uneasy that some residents feel entitled to object to the national flag of our country in which they live. What other important things they might object to?

Why is high street an unexpected place to see the flags of your own country? I have been fortunate enough to have travelled far and wide, both in Europe and beyond. Let me assure you that a town’s high street is precisely the place where you’d expect to see national, regional and local flags — as a stroll through many French, Italian or Swiss town centres would demonstrate.

I put it to you that there is nothing surprising or shameful about flying the Union Flag on Sutton High Street. It is a natural and fitting thing to do. What is not natural nor fitting is to be offended by it.

Why do the opinions of an unknown number of “some residents” are taken into account but not the opinion of the silent majority that — should you take the trouble to ask — would no doubt say “I have no problem with the British flag on a British high street”? Did you ask Sutton residents whether they were upset or happy to see the Union Jack on the high street? Nobody has asked me or any of my friends, family, neighbours or other people I know in Sutton.

Why has nobody bothered to ask us?

What I know is that when I first saw them I thought to myself, blimey, that’s a good idea, high time we had some pride in this country — only to be later forwarded a link to your open letter promising to remove them because “some residents felt uneasy”.

Needless to say I am extremely disappointed and puzzled by your decision to remove the national flag of our country from our high street.

It is a bad, incoherent decision because while it might follow the letter of the law (and the law, as we know, is sometimes an ass) it ignores the greater public good of visible national unity, and is based on the unquantified opinions of (presumably) a few people with animus towards Britain or our flag, instead of the views of the majority of tax-paying citizens of Sutton who would have no issue with British flags on a British high street.

For these reasons I urge you to

(1) commission an independent representative poll of Sutton residents asking us whether we support or object to our national flag being flown on our high street, and

(2) commit to act accordingly.

What do you say? Will you listen to the people of Sutton?