Harlow Council leader: Graffiti is vandalism but flags stay up
News / Fri 29th Aug 2025 at 09:18am
ON Wednesday morning, we asked Harlow Council whether they will be cleaning the graffiti on roundabouts, telecoms boxes and a church in the town.
On Friday morning, we received the following response.
Cllr Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said: “I absolutely stand by the statement I made last week about flags across our town – Harlow Council will not be removing Union or St George’s flags that have been placed on lampposts.
“But let’s be clear: graffiti is vandalism. It will be treated in exactly the same way as any other graffiti in Harlow.
“In the case of the church, it is private property, and as with any private property, this must be addressed by the owners.”
Residents can report graffiti here.
I
Well done Dan
2025-08-29 10:55:01
Well done Dan Swords. The flags should remain of our proud national history. Graffiti is vandalism and should not be tolerated. This is exactly the right call. Keep the flags, say no to graffiti.
Nancy
2025-08-29 11:32:01
A good call Dan would be to contact the church and tell them that you and a group of volunteers (maybe take that racist one) will come along and paint their wall white. I'm sure Wickes would give you some paint - I'd give you some paint - It would be good optics - Like Boris and his broom after the riots.
Fabian Stedman
2025-08-29 11:40:40
I think mr swords should be thoroughly ashamed of himself for not tackling this issue head on!, ever since the flags appeared on tuesday I have been stressed out beyond belief and frankly I think it's really disturbing that he is not respecting the views of the majority who do not want the flags here at all!. this sentiment is also expressed by james griggs and I heartly support him in this issue!.
Balanced Argument
2025-08-29 11:57:24
Fabian, the vast and silent majority (silented for far too long) love the flags and no other country in the world has a problem with celebrating their own flags. This should’ve been done years ago but people were too scared to be labelled far right. These flags are absolutely beautiful and remind us of our proud heritage. We do not want spray paint/ graffiti of any kind including the Red Cross. These are two different issues. Flags should remain and condone graffiti of any kind including the Red Cross. Fabian, you definitely are not speaking for the majority. The silent majority are too scared to stand up as they get labelled far right which is the leftist narrative that you see from fake media such as Jimmy Sav’s BBC
Phil
2025-08-29 12:18:28
@Fabian Stedman. You're joking right? Did the flaggy waggys hurt your feelings? Awww bless you. Get a grip man. This is not an issue. The grafitti is, but the flags? Definitely not. I'm proud to be both British and English at the same time. Somehow, people like you are the reason that the left claim the far right have weaponised the Saint Georges Cross. It's exactly that statement that weaponises it, not the group holding the flag. Perhaps if the left stopped being so anti-English and started supporting their own country, the right couldn't lay claim to the flag as their own?
Jon
2025-08-29 13:10:48
No sure why Dan Swords didn't condemn grafetti sooner. His first statement basically encouraged it. If he had some pride he would be offering to help clean up instead of just saying tough, its your own problem as its private land Also is it him personally making the statement or did the councillors vote and collectively decide the councils position on the matter?
Dave
2025-08-29 15:17:53
Phil Im proud to be British and fought for this country for 10 years in the army. Im a "lefty" but not sure how im anti British/English. When did you fight for this country? Or are you just putting up flags and thinking you've made a difference?
RJC
2025-08-29 16:04:26
Totally agree with Jasper.
FlyTheFlagWithPride
2025-08-29 19:01:32
Love the flags and painting on the mini roundabouts and road marking but the graffiti element on private property and bus stops etc isn't really necessary as it just rankles with some of the people. However not sure if the church is too worried about the situation...The walls have been tatty and needed a coat of paint for the last ten years at least so this is a god send...I expect they will now get a fresh lick of paint.
Adrienne Barlow
2025-08-30 02:32:07
We know we are British.I don't understand why we have to stuff flags in people's faces all the time.Am I missing something lol Pathetic,you know those flags are very distracting when you are driving on the road and I am very surprised that the highways agency has allowed them We have enough RTA'S without another dangerous distraction. Take them down.If you want to make your point lobby your local M P
Ted
2025-08-30 15:01:29
FABIAN. You have hit a nerve with me , can you explain to me how you know the majority of people are upset with the flags , as thousands of people live in Harlow , have you asked them all
Ted
2025-08-30 15:06:00
Perhaps people doing community service could paint the church wall
Colleen Morrison
2025-08-30 15:54:33
Well said, Dan and thank you for leaving the flags in place. I have no time for far right extremists, but I welcome peaceful protest and have engage in no small number of such protests over the many years. Seeing the flags flying all along my route to the town centre today hugely cheered me up, as I am sure the flags cheered up many others too, at a time when there's little to be cheerful about. Sadly, on my way home a few hours later, many of the flags had been removed, but it was great to see them while they were there.
Colleen Morrison
2025-08-30 17:13:17
Fabian, I'm sorry that the flags have made you feel stressed. I think of our pride in our flags in the following way. The people of the British Isles have a lot to be proud of. We have suffered and survived dreadful times: AD 43 - 410 AD: the Roman Empire's imperialistic invasion, colonisation and enslavement of our ancestors. AD 449 -1066 AD: The Anglo-Saxons from three tribes: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, from various parts of Germany and Denmark, invaded and enslaved the people of the British Isles. AD 800 onwards: Vikings, Norsemen and the Danes invaded, slaughtered and enslaved our people. 1066: The Franco Germanic Norman invasion and colonisation of our islands, for almost a century. 1154 - 1485: The French Plantagenet dynasty invaded, colonised, slaughtered, pillaged and enslaved many. 1485-1603: The Tudors were of Welsh origins: But they were vile, home grown enslavers of our ancestors. c 1500- 1700s The Barbary Pirates slaughtered and enslaved Christian captives taken from British coastal areas and ships, it's estimated that 1,250,000 Britons were slaughtered or enslaved by these wretched people. 1914 - 1918 & 1939-1946 the Germans and Nazis tried to invade, colonise and enslave our people, but failed. 1960s-2016 people from all over Europe engaged in legal colonisation of the British isles via the wretched EU. However, good old British, we've survived all of this. We in Britain have so much to celebrate with our flags.
Colleen Morrison
2025-08-30 17:35:52
Some will say, yes, but the British became colonisers and enslavers too. But did we really? The following report encapsulates for me what life in the British Isles was truly like for the majority of ordinary working people who lived here, for a thousand years of the history of our islands. "Life for the agricultural labourer is as hard as it can be. He [and she!] works like a slave, lives like a pig and too often dies like a dog, with nothing to look forward to other than an old age of rheumatism and misery in the work house." (The Lives of Working People. The Essex Chronicle newspaper. 1860).
Jeannette
2025-08-31 04:45:02
Everyone I know loves the flags being up, I would say the majority of people are happy to see them, not the minority, so good call to leave them but the graffiti is definitely vandalism
Jamie Tidman
2025-08-31 21:35:10
Colleen: it's not correct to assume that those of us who object to this dislike our flag, or are unpatriotic. I take great pride in both flags. I object to the flags being co-opted by Operation Raise The Colours, a group which has its origins in founders such as Andrew Currien, former high-level member in the EDL and convicted for his involvement in a racist death. You are right to point to World War 2 as a point of national pride. For me that pride comes from the fact that Britain fought a Facist and ultra-nationalist ideology, and came to the defence of our European allies. The people ultimately behind Operation Raise The Colours are the polar opposite of those values.
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