Reflections of a Boomer

One Flag, Two Meanings — We Have a Choice

For 23 years in the Royal Navy, I marched past the Union Jack and White Ensign at sunrise and saluted them at sunset.

I guarded them, celebrated them, and honoured the sacrifices of those who served before me.

Those flags stood for something: freedom, respect, tolerance—and service alongside people from every corner of the globe, many of whom gave their lives for the freedoms the flags represented.

Today, I see those same flags used for two opposite purposes.

One, to unite—welcoming our multi-ethnic armed forces, our colleagues in hospitals, our immigrant workers on farms, in tourism, and in every trade.

The other, to divide—to demonise immigrants, fuel fear, and stoke hatred.

Here are the facts:

• Over 16,000 members of our Armed Forces are from ethnic minority backgrounds. Nearly half are not UK nationals.
• In the NHS, almost 265,000 staff—19% of the workforce—are non-British nationals.
• Among nurses, nearly 27% are from abroad.

These are not just statistics.

They are people.

They save lives.

They protect us.

They keep our country moving.

But we also see the flag used differently:

• Tens of thousands in London recently waved it to demand the expulsion of immigrants and the overthrow of a democratically elected government.
• Extremist voices—far-right, anti-LGBTQ, and racist—have tried to claim ownership of the flag as a symbol of exclusion.

So here is the truth:

Our flags are either symbols of unity or symbols of hate.

They cannot be both.

We as a United Kingdom must choose.

Do we uphold our flags as emblems that bind us together—where everyone, whether born here or abroad, is equal and respected?

Or do we allow them to be hijacked as tools of division and fear?

Do we honour those who contribute—serving in our forces, caring for us in hospitals, driving our buses, picking our crops?

Or do we treat them as second-class citizens?

Do we embrace a politics of inclusion, respect, and fairness?

Or do we let extremists rebrand patriotism as exclusion?

I will always support the Union Flag—not because of where I was born, but because of what it means: duty, freedom, service, tolerance.

Now, it is on all of us to decide what it will mean in the future.

The flags of our nations will either stand for unity or for hate.

They cannot be both.

The choice is ours