• It is not currently lawful to put flags on lamp posts.
  • The Alliance Party is seeking to draft a bill that would actually expand citizens’ rights to fly flags – subject to certain conditions.
  • Proposals underpinning that bill are currently out for public consultation. As things stand, there is no finished draft Bill and thus no specific proposals yet from Alliance.
  • The consultation suggests that a future Bill could enable the legal flying of flags for “the purposes of celebration and commemoration, and for a reasonable time period” (which would include marking the Twelfth of July).

In a 10 January post on social media, DUP MP Sammy Wilson claimed:

“The Alliance Party are proposing new legislation to remove our National Flag and bunting from public places.”

In a video contained within the post, the MP for East Antrim said:

“Every July and August this street is festooned with buntings and the flag of the country to celebrate the 12th July celebrations. That will not be the case in the future if the Alliance Party has its way with the Bill which it is proposing to bring to the Assembly to stop the flying of flags in public places such as Larne Main Street.”

This is not accurate, based on the evidence.

Currently, members of the public have no legal right to erect symbols such as flags on street furniture, e.g. lamp posts.

The Alliance Party is seeking to draft a bill that would actually expand citizens’ rights so that public display of flags is legal – subject to certain conditions, including respect for communities, and the emblems themselves. It also aims to “ensure that displays are for the purposes of celebration and commemoration, and for a reasonable time period”.

Technically, the Alliance Party hasn’t made specific proposals – yet. It is currently undertaking a public consultation on ideas that might underpin its planned Display of Flags and Emblems Bill.

FactCheckNI reached out to the MP and to the Alliance Party as well as looking at reports commissioned by the Executive.

For more information, read on.

  • Source

FactCheckNI contacted Mr Wilson’s constituency office to discuss this claim. Mr Wilson replied:

“[We] know from experience that the Alliance Party is opposed to the flying of the Union flag and has supported Sinn Fein in efforts to stop the flag being flown in as many places as it can in Councils across Northern Ireland.

I would also point out to you if you have read their own consultation that one of the options is to have no flag flying publicly. I have no doubt this is their preferred position given their record in the past. They are an anti-Unionist and increasingly pro-Republican Party, they cannot even be honest about their position on the constitutional position of Northern Ireland, but of course they are afraid to say what their real stance is for fear of putting off naive Unionist voters who to date have given them their vote.”

FactCheckNI then contacted Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw, who supplied some material including some of her party’s Bill proposal, which is not publicly available. (Our process explains that we prefer to rely on “publicly available sources of information and data” but may also have to use “private correspondence” and “information that is not in the public domain in order to better explain an issue”.)

  • Consultation

Earlier this month, Alliance launched a public consultation on a planned Display of Flags and Emblems Bill.

To fully understand the context of this bill, its consultation and the current status quo around flags and emblems in Northern Ireland, we need to go back a few years.

  • FICT

On 20 June 2016, the Executive Office established a Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT).

After extensive consultation and a long delay, the FICT Report was published on 1 December 2021. It stated that, under current legislation, “citizens do not have lawful authority to put up any flag on lamp posts or road signs.”

It also quotes Section 87 of the Roads Order (NI) 1993, which states:

(1) Any person who, without lawful authority— 

(a) paints or otherwise inscribes or affixes any picture, letter, sign or mark; or 

(b) displays any advertisement, upon the surface of a road or upon any tree, structure or other works in or on a road, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

The Report notes that, despite some examples of good practice, OFMDFM‘s 2005 Joint Protocol in relation to the the Display of Flags in Public Areas, based on the principle of partnership working between public agencies, has not worked. 

The FICT Commission outlined a “possible code of practice” for flying flags on street furniture (such as lamp posts), involving certain key principles:

  • Respect for the flag – flags should not be in tatters; flags should not be used to provoke, threaten or mark territory; flags should not be burned or defiled.
  • Respect for the community – flags should not be used to define a neighbourhood or community as one tradition or another, nor used to intimidate any community.
  • Respect for the event – flags should be allowed to be flown out of respect for particular historical or political events, but not in all places over long periods of time.

The Commission also proposed that flags should not be placed on lamp posts on or near individual property or places of worship “in any way that could be considered intimidatory or threatening”; should not be flown around places of public service, e.g. schools, hospitals, health centres, leisure centres and libraries; and they should not be placed in “antagonistic” places such as interfaces.

Other suggestions included that “the utmost courtesy must be shown to those who might feel uncomfortable with the flag display” and “[residents] of areas where flags are displayed can reasonably expect to know who is putting the flags up and how long they will be displayed”.

The FICT Report found unanimous agreement that flags linked to proscribed organisations should not be flown (as is already illegal under the Terrorism Act 2000).

  • Alliance motion

On 30 April 2024, Alliance Party MLAs Paula Bradshaw, John Blair and Peter McReynolds tabled a Private Members’ Motion in the Assembly about the display of flags, emblems and banners. The motion moved by Ms Bradshaw read:

“That this Assembly notes chapter 11 of the report of the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition; endorses the proposed code of practice for the respectful display of flags at paragraph 11.48; recognises lawful authority for the display of flags, emblems and banners from public property does not exist; and calls on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to develop, urgently, a consultation on how such lawful authority may be provided within the bounds of the proposed code of practice.”

She said that Alliance wanted was “specifically proposing a means of providing lawful authority for the display of flags, emblems and banners from public property for the purposes of commemoration and celebration” and that “there is currently no lawful authority, and we wish to see it provided”.

The motion was resolved with 49 Ayes and 31 Noes. On 6 January of this year, Ms Bradshaw launched a 12-week consultation on a proposal titled the Display of Flags and Emblems Bill.

  • Consultation

The Alliance Party is planning to produce a bill that would regulate the display of flags and emblems from street furniture but that has yet to be finalised. Draft bills tend to be produced after consultation, taking account of responses received during that consultation period. (FactCheckNI recently looked at speculation around another consultation, this time, prior to the introduction of legislation from a government department rather than individual MLAs.)

Specifically, if a consultation seeks discussion on particular ideas or suggestions, it does not mean that those ideas will make it into any draft bill.

Once a consultation period has ended, Private Members’ Bills are drafted and then go through a seven stage process before becoming legislation, as outlined in our recent fact check about the Executive’s Legislative Programme. 

Bearing that in mind, let’s take a look at the contents of the consultation.

  • Ideas for change

According to Alliance’s consultation page:

The display of emblems is an important part of any democratic society, and citizens have a right to express their identity and culture. However, the unregulated display of emblems (typically in the form of flags, bunting, banners and posters) displayed from street furniture across Northern Ireland can be both contentious and divisive.

Paula Bradshaw’s Bill proposes a regulatory framework to enable the display of emblems on street furniture (such as lamp posts, telegraph poles and safety barriers) within a Code of Conduct. It does not concern private property.

The legislation would seek to:

  • establish a regulatory framework for the display of emblems (such as on flags, banners and posters) on street furniture (e.g. lamp posts);
  • ensure that displays are for the purposes of celebration and commemoration, and for a reasonable time period; and,
  • clarify whose responsibility it is to remove emblems displayed unlawfully (including paramilitary flags and posters expressing racial hatred).

Ms Bradshaw also sent a copy of the Bill proposal – which is not publicly available –to FactCheckNI. It states that the proposal “is to make lawful the display of flags and emblems (including banners) from public property for the purpose of commemoration or celebration, provided this is done so in line with a Code of Practice similar to that outlined in by FICT.”

It says further that its aim “is to secure wider support for the display of flags and banners as a means of celebrating and commemorating in a shared and diverse society […], while at the same time securing their removal from public property where they have been placed with the intimidatory intent.”

Of course, the caveat remains that currently this consultation is ongoing and, as yet, there is no draft bill.

  • The claim

Sammy Wilson’s post and video on X claimed that the proposed Bill would remove “our National Flag and bunting from public places,” and that this could impact places like Larne Main Street around the 12th July celebrations.

In his response to FactCheckNI, Mr Wilson highlights previous Alliance Party policy to stop the Union flag flying in local Councils in Northern Ireland.

  • In 2012, the Alliance proposed to amend the number of days the Union Flag flies at Belfast City Hall.
  • More recently, a dispute in Ards and North Down Borough Council resulted in a “call-in” motion whereby the Alliance Party, the Green Party and the SDLP blocked a TUV proposal to increase the number of days that the Union Flag would fly at 13 war memorials in the council area.

His response to FactCheckNI also speculated on the Alliance Party’s intentions with this consultation. And Mr Wilson suggests the consultation survey, which includes an option for people to say they would like “to have no flag flying publicly”. 

It is important to point out that public consultations are a standard part of changing policies and creating new legislation. They provide an opportunity for members of the public, businesses, professional bodies, trade associations, experts, campaigners or just about anyone to give their views on a set of proposals. Consultations gather feedback, opinions, and evidence. Consultations are not a vote. They are not something any given side of a debate can win. Instead, they are a chance to raise issues and explore options. Therefore, there will be a variety of questions – and subsequently responses – in the consultation which ask to what degree respondents agree with the display of emblems in various circumstances, such as this:

Figure 1 – source: Alliance Party

Ultimately, Alliance’s suggested proposals do not seek to remove national flags, such as the Union Flag, from public view. As things stand, it is unlawful for citizens to erect flags on street furniture and the bill seeks to make this lawful in certain circumstances.

The Alliance proposal states that it is seeking to ensure displays are for the purpose of celebration and commemoration, and for a reasonable time period. An established celebration such as 12th July is the type of event for which flags would be permitted, albeit perhaps with regulations and time limits. Ms Bradshaw’s Private Members’ Bill proposal – which was sent to FactCheckNI – states:

“The right to express culture and identity is well established, and there is no question that there is a tradition which exists in Northern Ireland for doing this. It is common also for flags and banners associated with Loyal Orders, Irish Republicanism, the GAA, Pride and many other nations, regions, cultures and causes to be displayed. In fact, this proposal seeks to reinforce the right to display emblems for the purposes of celebration and commemoration, and even to do so where this emblem is not universally supported – that is part of living in a liberal and democratic society.”

There are some wrinkles to this. Although right now there is no lawful authority to fly flags from lamp posts, there are still many flags on many lamp posts across Northern Ireland. A fuller enforcement of existing laws, or new laws that place restrictions on flags and emblems, could lead to some flags that are currently on display being removed. On the other hand, new laws might instead lead to an overall increase of flags being erected, legally or illegally. Speculation on the future is difficult to fact check.

That, of course, is just speculation and, regardless, it would not be the proposed new legislation – which fundamentally seeks to expand citizens’ rights to erect flags in public – that would be responsible for  flags coming down, as per Mr Wilson’s claim.

In the video on his social media post, Mr Wilson also cited 12th July celebrations specifically – which, based on the Alliance consultation, would seem to fall into their proposed “purposes of celebration and commemoration” and be the type of event which allows for the erection of flags and other emblems.