Came across some pleasant news earlier, the Government are lifting laws preventing the flying of flying our national flag.

LONDON (AFP) - "Woefully out-of-date" laws banning the display of national flags will be lifted, the government has said.

Present laws, which came into effect in 1992, stipulate that it is unlawful to fly a national flag without obtaining permission from the local district council, unless it is flown on a vertical flagpole.

New laws, due to come into effect in April next year, will allow British residents to fly national flags without having to gain permission, and will also include the flags of the United Nations, the European Union and the Commonwealth.

Yvette Cooper, the government's minister for housing and planning, said it was "ridiculous that someone could be prosecuted for displaying their national flag."

"The regulations on flags are currently woefully out-of-date and far too bureaucratic.

"As the World Cup demonstrated, many people want to show their support for their national team and they should be able to do so without fear of prosecution," she said.

According to a spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government, district councils are being urged "not to be heavy-handed" in enforcing the current regulations.

A family in Peterborough, eastern England, were threatened with prosecution by their district council for flying two English flags outside their home, the BBC reported.

The council claimed that a single vertical pole would have been within regulations, but because the flags were flown at an angle to the house, they were deemed to be advertising.

A compromise was reached when the council agreed to allow the flags to be flown, but only on special occasions.

During the football World Cup in Germany in June and July, many houses, cars and pubs across England were festooned with red-on-white Saint George's crosses in support of the national team.

Many still remain flapping from windows, though cheaper versions tend to become pink-on-grey as the elements take their toll.

Source (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/25072006/323/bureaucratic-national-flag-ban-lifted.html)

I returned from Malaysia a few weeks ago. If any daft office bod over there told anyone to remove their national flag he would get beaten up and no one would bother to stop it - including the police who would arrest him afterwards.

They are proud of their country while we have health and safety loonies telling us we can't do it and the PC brigade telling us it's racist to be proud of being English.

was people in fear of prosecution during the world cup?
did people give a ****?
there was flags everywhere (george cross ones anyway)

or are we talking the union jack?

Does anybody actually have any evidence that these regulations were introduced, by the Tories who are not generally known for their love of ’political correctness’, specifically because they considered it ‘racist’ or whatever to display the flag rather than due to general zeal with which the government seems to approach planning issues in the UK?

this is a complete non story.

There was no 'ban on national flags' what there were were requirements for planning permission for any flag stuck from your house on a poll.
Pure journalistic spin.

Health and safety reasons mostly. People were using things like scaffolding poles to fly their flags and they were unsafe.

It's a non-story... again.

It's just a peculiarity in the planning legislation that is understandably being tidied up.

However, a Minister has decided to make some rather low-rent political capital over it.

To explain; a flag is technically and quite rightly considered as an advertisement under Planning legislation, and adverts need planning permission. However, national flags are exempt providing that they are on a single, vertical flag pole. It's part of a standard review of the legislation.

All that is happening is that you will be able to fly it from a non-vertical flag pole as well as a vertical one.

Here's the extract from the Consultation Paper covering Outdoor Advertisements.

4.14 Class I - National Flags
4.14.1 Background. National Flags may be erected and displayed with out the need for consent provided each flag is displayed on a "single vertical" flagstaff. This requirement is proving somewhat restrictive because some buildings cannot accommodate vertical poles thus making it necessary for application for consent to be made.

4.14.2 Proposed Action. It is therefore proposed to amend legislation to exempt from control national flags however they are flown from a flagstaff.

So as you see, the consultation reasons are rather more mundane than Braveheart style ones that the Minister suggests.

Other things being looked at are adverts on the side of trailers in fields next to motorways, motorway bridges, building forecourts, adverts inside buildings, and lots of other really boring stuff.

It's not a victory for common sense, the BNP or Mr Blair.

Like I said... a non-story.

Advertising?

It wasnt because half of them had 'JJB Sports' printed on them then? :D