Photo taken during an anti racist counter protest outside the Ibis Hotel in Gloucester on the 30th August 2025.

A response to Operation Raise the Colours

Operation Raise the Colours, a seemingly patriotic name for what is undeniably an act of hate. The UK is a place of countless cultures, some that have immigrated to us and others that we have stolen, but this is not about history. 

This is about the crisis in the UK that is being directed at the wrong group of minorities, a word which most would associate with the standard checkboxes we see on forms. People are missing the critical point of the problem, it's not the Turkish barber, the Nigerian nurse or the Polish painter that are 'stealing our jobs'. 

It's a government who have corrupted the system into such chaos to create a scapegoat that will distract from their own failings. 

This is not about left or right, not about blaming nor supporting any single government, not everyone can be pleased all at once and people can voice their opinions as freedom of expression, but when that expression manifests in the form of hate, this is when divide and war breeds. 

Tension in our countries is rising and the wrong battle is being picked, we should not be fighting against people seeking safety or people with a different colour or accent, our fight should not be with people whose families have lived here for one, two or three generations, who have fought for us in wars, supported our NHS or played for us in football.

It should be against the policy makers, the decision makers, the billionaires and the power-holders who profit from division and make money from the average tax payer.

They are the ones who create their own priorities, who neglect our public services and bankrupt our low-income communities. They pour money into hate and starve funds that could fix our own problems. 

The carnage these ‘raise the colours’ protests will force, is an unnecessary divide in our country, not just by the protesters or the anti-protesters but the resources used to clear up the mess. Each roundabout will cost £400 to repaint white, it costs the council money to pull down each flag that is illegally hung in public spaces.

This is a time where unity is the only solution. Not just the unity of the English or the unity of the British, but the unity of all people. So, before you vandalise a chippy, paint a roundabout or repost misinformation, remember this: we are all human. And no one should live in fear for simply existing.

This is a response from an anonymous blogger.