Liberals, you now have a duty to hang the St George's flag

I’ve just returned from the US, where my Italian-American family could not grasp Britain’s troubled relationship with national flags. For them, the Stars and Stripes is universal: proudly flown in rich and poor neighbourhoods, celebrated by Black, Latino, Asian and white Americans, sometimes displayed alongside an Italian tricolore, Irish tricolour or Mexican eagle, all without any controversy. No one sees a contradiction – because there isn’t one.

When I explained that in Britain the Union flag or Cross of St George is often viewed as provocative – even sinister – they shook their heads. Why, they asked, would you allow extremists to steal your national symbols?

This is precisely what has happened here in the UK. For decades in England – unlike Scotland and Wales – liberals and progress