Churchill, Shakespeare and the UK flag all under siege in modern Britain, commentators say

Over a century ago, Britain was seen as the place to be.It pioneered science, including medicine.It built industries such as railroads, major bridges and created a strong middle class.And despite what some would say, it was the only major empire that abolished slavery and policed the oceans, at its own considerable expense, to make sure other countries didn’t enslave people.And it had the largest Navy in the world.Now, many say, that all seems like a distant memory.

The latest controversy involves images or statues of some ofthe United Kingdom’smost lauded people.The face of Winston Churchill, the British prime minister during WWII, is being removed from the five-pound note by the Bank of England.The Reform U.K.leader Nigel Farage called the decision “absolutely crackers,” noting the proposal was to replace Churchill and others with a picture of a beaver. 

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Churchill’s statue in Westminster was vandalized in 2020 and again last month.Churchill led the defense of Britain, which was the only country in Europe that didn’t fall during WWII. 

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“Decades of woke education policy have taught people to deny and decry the history of this country as it is deemed to be oppressive, racist and unfair,�He says the teaching labor unions controlled by the hard left have enforced their agenda on generations of pupils.“It is no surprise, therefore, that at least some of their victims have imbibed this philosophy and are acting on it.”

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In this photo illustration, some 5 pound banknotes, which include an image of Winston Churchill, are displayed on a table.(Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Statues of British peoplewho lived centuries ago have been targeted to be pulled down and then destroyed.Some of these efforts have been successful.Some have not.William Gladstone, Robert Peel, James Cook and Francis Drake were targeted for destruction by activists, according to Sky News.These men were, respectively, a reformist prime minister, the founder of the police force, a naval explorer and a privateer. Luckily, their statues remain largely intact.

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Now William Shakespeare is under attack.Apparently, being White is a bad thing, and some say the Bard was really a Black woman.The activist summary is that Shakespeare might be used to advocate White nationalism.

These attempts to erase high-achieving Brits from history might appear trivial, Matt Goodwin, a GB News presenter, wrote on X.“It matters far more than many people realize,” he wrote.“Across the Western World, an assortment ofDiversity, Equity and Inclusion[DEI] bureaucrats, radical activists, and increasingly compliant public institutions are engaged in a cultural project that seeks to delegitimize our national.”

The statue of Sir Winston Churchill, which was defaced overnight with red paint and the words “Free Palestine,” in Parliament Square, London, Feb.27, 2026.(Reuters/Carlos Jasso)

It’s not just statues and images that have been targeted.Flying your own country’s flag can get you in trouble.Left-wingers in Britain, such as Labor Party supporters, often view theflying of the United Kingdom’sUnion Jack flag, or St.George’s Cross, as racist or anti-immigration.

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“So strong has become the voice of DEI and immigrants that any sign of a proud U.K.gets denounced,�“DEI cannot bear strong nations – it wants them set aside so minorities feel at ‘home.’”

Habib also notes there’s an added complication with theUnion Jack and St.George’s cross– they both represent Christian saints.“That is offensive to the growing numbers practicing foreign religions in the U.K.,�

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British MP Robert Jenrick climbed a post in Newark, U.K., to hang a British flag.(Robert Jenrick via X)

Much of this flag-hating began following the invasion of Israel by Hamas, an Iran-backed terrorist organization.The U.K.then witnessed a surge in Palestinian flags flying on public buildings.This upset more than a few British patriots, who then stepped out with the British flags.“We need to start cohering around national stories and symbols, and the flag is the most visual way of doing that,�

Planning authorities, usually the local U.K.councils, do not need to grant permission for people to fly either the Union Jack flag or the St.George’s Cross.Other flags are seen as an advertisement.However, spray-painting a St.George’s Cross on a building that’s not yours is not allowed.

Despite the George Cross being seen as anti-immigrant in the U.K., thehistorical St.George, who died approximately 1,700 years ago, is mentioned in the Koran as a friend of Moses.And some religious scholars suggest he is a servant of God.

A detail of a portrait of William Shakespeare, presented by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, in central London, March 9, 2009.(Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Photo)

At the same time, Britain’s economy has slowed to a near total stop under the present center-left Starmer government.The unemployment rate increased to 5.4% in December, up from 3.6% in August 2022, according to data from Trading Economics.The country’s GDP growth has been stuck at 1% or less since the first quarter of 2022. 

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Part of the rush to take up flags may be the disastrous economy in Britain.One outstanding, poorly thought-through government policy came from the Labor Party, which mandated an increase in National Insurance contributions (the U.S.equivalent to FICA) by corporations, undermining any chance of increasing employment, as the jump in costs effectively acted as a tax on employment.

�s Michael Saunders contributed to this report.

Simon Constable writes for a variety of leading publications and is a fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health and the Study of Business Enterprise.