Northants flag-downing activists clear 1,000th 'unlawfully-raised' flags from county lamp-posts
Northants Flagdowners group has said its activists across all the county’s towns have ‘effectively’ cleared the flags it says are being illegally flown from public lamp-posts.
The Flagdowners claim to have removed 1,000 flags since Union Jacks and Crosses of St George started to appear in August last year.
Following a national trend of ‘Raise the Colours’, public street furniture was adorned with flags – but a counter movement soon started to remove them.
Now The Northants Flagdowners say all the main towns of Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough and Rushden have been cleared.
Northants Flagdowners group member Morris Beckman, 38, said: “There is clearly no public support for our national flags being cable tied from lamp-posts in what has become a bit of a national embarrassment.
"They have sought to capture our country's flag to promulgate their own blackhearted views of the world.
"They seek to demand allegiance to their views and to ram their politics down everyone else's throat and we're not having it.”
“We have active Flagdowners right across the county and will always be there to clear the flags and to fight against the division and fear they so plainly seek to engender.”
So far, more than £8,000 via GoFundMe has been raised by a Kettering group to purchase flags.
Mr Beckman said: “We have to take this action because despite councils right across the country, including our neighbouring West Northants Council, now removing these illegal flags, North Northamptonshire Council won’t.
"Some councils such as Shropshire County Council are even commencing legal proceedings against their local flaggers, whilst our local council does nothing.”
In August 2025, North Northamptonshire Council’s leader said his authority would take down flags if they cause a safety issue.
Mr Beckman added: “We are not against our country's flags where they are properly flown from flagpoles and to commemorate national events.
"Many of us have taken up flagdowning after meeting people who are scared and upset at what we all see is the spread of a politics of fear and division. and we all know that these flags are a key part of this.”