Portsmouth Patriots condemned by Reform UK group leader at college debate

“I hate it”: the Portsmouth Reform UK group leader has publicly condemned the Portsmouth Patriots protest group.

At a local election hustings on Friday, candidates were asked about the St George’s flags mounted on lampposts and other public infrastructure over the past year.

The hustings, hosted by City of Portsmouth College politics lecturer Steve Fitzgerald, gave students the chance to question candidates representing the Green Party, Labour, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats.

One question asked whether the recent use of the England flag represents patriotism or a method of intimidation towards minority ethnic groups.

Joe Standen, the Reform UK incumbent for Paulsgrove, said it “fills my heart with pride” whenever he sees the Union Jack or the St George’s Cross.

He said he would, and has, raised flags for international football, but would be “mortified” if anyone thought he was doing it to offend.

He said that in the summer of last year “there were groups within our society that did this to make a point and I don’t agree with that at all”.

He added: “I hate seeing the flag of my country weaponised [as it] has sailed across the back of Royal Navy ships protecting us. For people to use that as a weapon against other people in the country is frankly, to me, abhorrent.”

He agreed with other panellists that at some points over the last 12 months it has been used as a symbol of hate, but said he does not believe that makes the flag, or England, inherently racist.

Asked whether he supports the Portsmouth Patriots, a protest group seen demonstrating outside the Royal Beach Hotel last summer, which houses asylum seekers, he said:

“I hate it and I think they’re wrong – that’s it.”

He added that Portsmouth Reform has publicly condemned Portsmouth Patriots and said “the next time there is a protest outside the Royal Beach Hotel I will happily publicly condemn it”.

Labour candidate Matthew Holland questioned whether Mr Standen would be as confident expressing those views in front of Reform UK voters.

In response, he said: “100 per cent I would”.

Steve Pitt, leader of the council and Liberal Democrat candidate for Milton, said the issue around flags is “complex”, acknowledging that some display them for patriotic reasons and others for more “nefarious” purposes.

“I know people who regularly fly a St George’s cross outside their homes who are Liberal Democrats who would be horrified to think that the people would associate them with negativity towards the ‘other’.”

In another part of the debate, Mr Pitt recounted his experience with an asylum seeker family who fled Iran due to Christian persecution and were housed in the Royal Beach Hotel.

“They’ve now got a bunch of people stood opposite claiming that Jesus is king and showing crosses at them – can you imagine what that must feel like,” he added.

Jay Mercer, Green Party candidate for St Thomas ward, said they have “real mixed feelings about” the use of the St George’s Cross.

They described the “raise the flag” campaign seen last year as “targeted harassment towards minority groups” which attempted to “stir up hatred and division”.

However, they added that “you can’t generalise people” and that there is “no way of knowing what is in someone’s heart when they’re putting up that flag”.

Labour’s candidate for Drayton and Farlington, Matthew Holland, added: “It really frustrates me as someone who is proud of the country I live in, proud of the area I live in, to see the division and weaponisation of what should be a symbol of unity.”

The Portsmouth City Council local elections will take place on 7 May, with one seat in each of the city’s 14 wards up for election.