‘Patriots’ Don’t Know Which Way Is Up

Liberal Democrat campaigner Paul Jagger has poked fun at the so-called “Raise the Colours” campaign after spotting that a majority of the Union Flags outside Perdiswell have been put up the wrong way up.

A photo taken this week clearly shows one of the flags flying upside down — traditionally used as a maritime distress signal.

“The Union Flag has been flown the wrong way up on most of the poles,” Paul said. “Traditionally, that’s actually a distress signal – so perhaps it’s more accurate than they intended!”

He added:

“If you’re going to wrap yourself in patriotism, the least you can do is know which way up the flag goes. Getting it wrong doesn’t show national pride – it shows national parody. And to those who genuinely care about our heritage, this kind of ignorance is more insulting than patriotic. Maybe these self-styled patriots need to do their homework.”

Paul stressed that Worcester has every reason to be proud of its community and heritage, but suggested that the flag-raisers might want to brush up on the basics before telling others what patriotism looks like.