Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell has accused Labour of "discarding heritage" by refusing to fly the Middlesex flag over Downing Street to mark Middlesex Day tomorrow. The flag commemorates the historic county and celebrates British troops who fought against Napoleon at the Battle of Albuhera.
Speaking on GB News, Rosindell criticised the government's decision to break with the previous Conservative administration's tradition of flying the county flag on May 16.
"I think it's simple. Labour doesn't understand the heritage of our country, they see it as all out of date and something we should discard and forget about," Rosindell said.
"They think we should be modern, move forward and forget history as if history never happened."
Rosindell hit out at the decision not to fly the flag at Downing Street
GB NEWS / PA
The Romford MP expressed frustration about the importance of historic counties being overlooked.
"The reality is, the United Kingdom, particularly England, has a patchwork of historic counties. I am deeply proud of being from Essex and I am sick and tired of people saying Romford is Greater London."
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Flags being put up outside Downing Street
PAMiddlesex Day, marked on May 16, commemorates the date when the Middlesex Regiment fought Napoleon's forces at the Battle of Albuhera in Spain during the Peninsular War.
The historic county, first mentioned in a 704 AD chronicle, was administratively abolished in 1965 when it was subsumed into Greater London.
Despite this, Middlesex retains passionate supporters who gifted a flag to Downing Street in 2022, when it became the first county flag to fly above the prime minister's residence.
The previous Conservative government continued this tradition under Rishi Sunak's administration.
Andrew Rosindell spoke to Martin Daubney on GB News
GB NEWS
Rosindell also expressed concerns about flags with political connotations replacing national symbols.
"We have too many flags with political meaning behind them," he said. "We should fly our national flags. In my town hall, we fly the Union flag, we are flying the Essex flag for Essex Day but I think it should be flown all year round."
"I don't believe we should be flying flags of every kind of minority cause."
His comments come after Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf pledged to only fly the Union flag and St George's Cross over town halls won by the party.
Richard Holden, a Conservative shadow minister, claimed the decision symbolised Labour's "betrayal" of Brexit, saying: "Keir Starmer would rather hoist the white flag of surrender."
A Downing Street source defended the government's position, telling the Telegraph: "Led by the first Prime Minister to host a St George's Day reception in Downing Street, Labour obviously understands the importance of celebrating our proud heritage."
Jeff Barnes, chairman of Middlesex Heritage, expressed disappointment, noting the flag was "purchased by our members" and that Middlesex Day remembers "our county regiment" while celebrating the historic county.
