Roundabout flags: Birmingham Council slammed 'traitors' as flag removed - but paint actually stripped in Bromsgrove by Reform-led Worcestershire County Council
Birmingham Council has been slammed as “traitors” as it is widely believed on social media that the council has removed a St George’s flag from a roundabout.
However, it has emerged that this isn’t the case. A video has gone viral on social media appearing to show a St George’s flag on a mini-roundabout being removed.
Users on X, formerly Twitter, were quick to blame Birmingham City Council for removing the flag despite an ongoing bin strike. One user wrote: “Birmingham council can't collect bins or fill in potholes, but they can organise cleaning our national flag off of a roundabout within 24 hours of it being painted on. Traitors.”
Another added: “They can’t collect the bins.They can’t fix the potholes. They can’t balance the books.
“But when it comes to erasing the English flag from a roundabout – suddenly the council finds the money, the time, and the urgency to act within 24 hours. This isn’t incompetence. It’s betrayal. These people despise our identity and bend over backwards to erase it.”
However, it turns out that a flag was actually painted on a roundabout in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Worcestershire County Council is led by the Reform UK party.
The Reform UK group leader of Worcestershire County Council is Councillor Joanne Monk. She was elected shortly after the local elections in May 2025.
A council spokesman said: "All road markings on the county's highway network are strictly regulated for safety, including those on roundabouts of any size. Changes to agreed road markings must not be made unless approved by the Highway Authority, in line with these regulations.
"Unofficial actions on the highway network could be distracting or cause confusion to some road users so will therefore be removed." West Mercia Police has also now confirmed it was investigating the incident as criminal damage.
Inspector Richard Field, of Bromsgrove Police, said: "Painting roundabouts is not only dangerous to drivers and pedestrians, but it also amounts to criminal damage.We are working closely with partners, including Worcestershire county council, to tackle this issue and investigate where appropriate."
It comes as Reform has confirmed patriotic flags would not be removed from lampposts across the 12 councils which it runs. Guidance had previously been issued by the Government to say it wanted "more flags flow, particularly the Union flag" provided they were hung with "the permission of the owner of the site".