A Reform-led county council are having to take down St George’s and Union flags so they can put him Christmas lights this festive season.
In a video on X, council leader and teenager George Finch said he had given permission for the flags to be removed in “specific” locations so lights can be installed safely.
He said: “I will not deprive our towns and villages of their Christmas lights, which are key drivers of local pride.”
The council leader said contractors had raised “clear” health and safety issues over the flags, such as them potentially coming into contact with lights and creating a fire risk, the BBC reports.
In a move that sounds like the stuff of parody, Finch said the removed flags would be handed to local councillors so they can then be collected by their owners.
READ NEXT: Keir Starmer makes Lee Anderson jibe after Reform MP laughed at in Commons
He said: “We will work with local partners to try and get those flags that have been taken down in the hands of local councillors.
“This will mean, hopefully, those people whose flags have been taken down can collect them from their local councillor in the new year.”
So it all sounds like a brilliant use of taxpayers’ money…
Earlier this month, it was revealed that local councils in Britain had spent more than £60,000 this year removing flags.
St George’s and Union flags appeared on lamp posts across the country this summer as part of the ‘Raise the Colours’ movement.
Although some claim they are promoting patriotism and pride in their country, critics say the campaign was organised by ‘well-known racists and extremists‘ and the flags have been co-opted by the far-right.