London – In recent days, British streets have woken up to an unexpected sight of the “St George’s Cross” flags and the Union Jack raised unusually on main roads, public squares, and house entrances. This scene makes the country’s cities, which have experienced intense protests against immigrants throughout this summer, appear as if preparing to celebrate an extraordinary event.

The “St George’s Cross” flag is a national symbol of England, traditionally raised especially during football events and major occasions when national pride peaks. However, this symbol also carries a history of political and religious conflict, as it was brandished by crusader warriors during the Middle Ages and raised by English soldiers during invasion campaigns.

With the British Union’s formation in the 17th century, the “St George’s Cross” was combined with other crosses representing Ireland and Scotland to form the Union flag. The symbol then faded from prominence before being adopted by rising far-right movements in the 20th century.

While British streets are usually calm and neutral, avoiding the display of symbols that some might find provocative or politically hostile, the return of these flags to public spaces is not merely a revival of a symbol representing British unity and national glory. Instead, it has become a source of annoyance for some and a sharp political polarization trigger.

Weeks ago, groups called “Warriors of Woolly” appeared on social media claiming to include “proud English men who cherish their English identity and patriotism,” calling for raising flags in British towns and cities to revive this tradition. When some local councils moved to remove the flags, a wave of anger erupted against the decision, with online petitions demanding a ban on their removal spreading rapidly.

Other social media pages began fundraising to buy “St George’s” flags and hang them in some British cities amid the spread of sharp identity rhetoric on these platforms, calling to protect the “authentic roots” of white Britons and the English way of life, which they see threatened by the influx of immigrants that the government has failed to contain.

The “St George’s Cross” flags have become a prominent protest symbol proudly raised by populist right-wing supporters against minorities and refugees, as part of coordinated demonstrations to rally against immigrants in front of hotels temporarily housing asylum seekers, tightening pressure on the Labour government to toughen immigration policies.

During these protests, participants also raised anti-immigrant slogans such as “You are on our land” and “Stop the boats,” alongside phrases inspired by the American right-wing MAGA movement, “Make England Great Again.”

Over the past weeks, “immigrant hotels” have become constant battlegrounds with British police and other demonstrators supporting immigrant rights, where populist right-wing supporters demand their evacuation and the expulsion of refugees.

British politicians are cautiously dealing with the awakening of this nationalist trend amid escalating political polarization, which makes immigration a key issue fueling the narratives of right-wing parties, especially the Reform Party, which has established itself as a rising electoral force after unprecedented results in recent local elections.

Some British local councils, such as Birmingham and Tower Hamlets, have removed these flags from the streets citing “safety considerations,” while allowing them to be displayed in private homes or gardens.

However, the spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not oppose the campaign to raise flags on the streets, emphasizing “the importance of respecting Britons’ expression of their patriotism,” while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch rejected the removal decision, calling it “a shameful and provocative act.”

Right-wing Reform Party leader Nigel Farage, who leads an unprecedented media campaign against refugees, also celebrated the flag-raising, presenting a plan for mass deportations if he comes to power. American billionaire Elon Musk joined him in welcoming the flag campaign, posting a picture of the “St George’s” flag on his X platform account.

While Farage pledged to encourage continued flag-raising in councils under his control, British police opened investigations over public property damage after red crosses and “St George’s” flags were painted on public walls.

These crosses appeared alongside hate-inciting phrases against Muslims on a mosque wall in the city of Basildon, raising concerns that these campaigns fuel Islamophobia and hatred of minorities and foreigners.

Taher Abbas, Professor of Extremism and Social Justice at the University of Birmingham, told Al Jazeera that the organized spread of these campaigns is mainly due to the rise of right-wing rhetoric on social networks and the space it provides for mobilization through echo chambers that pump radical propaganda and revive national glories to mobilize nationalist sentiments.

Abbas added that this “exclusionary” behavior, which tries to occupy spaces in the shared public sphere, sends intimidating messages to minorities, especially Muslims, who are vulnerable groups targeted by far-right propaganda.

Shakuntala Panagie, Professor of Media and Social Change at the London School of Economics and Political Science, warned Al Jazeera against reducing the complex identity of a multi-ethnic society like Britain to divisive identity symbols that seek to erase the different other and threaten the model of coexistence.

Panagie believes that the rise of these right-wing currents from the political margins to the center of influence in decision-making and their attempt to monopolize identity symbols threatens democratic pluralism and hides behind nationalist rhetoric to divert attention from the causes of rising immigration waves to Britain, which are attributed to Western colonial policies and their fueling of conflicts and wars.