Birmingham comedian Joe Lycett opened his new Channel 4 television show with a routine about the controversial practice of raising England flags on lampposts, after it was revealed around 20,000 flags are flying across Birmingham and nearby areas.
Lycett was back on screen with his new live pub show, The Lycett Arms, where he welcomes punters and celebrity guests. Tonight's episode featured Coventry comedian Gus Khan and DJ Sara Cox.
Comedian's first announcement targets flaggers
After a sing-song introduction, Lycett introduced the show with a bit of his comic stylings, and his first 'announcement' addressed the raising of flags on lampposts in Birmingham. The city council is due to seek an injunction against the practice in court next week.
Not one to shy away from politics, Lycett cheekily joked: "I've been away for a while, you might have seen I've been busy putting up flags on lampposts.
"Well it's me and three others - Steve, Steve and Barry. Barry does the roundabouts."
"Me and the Steves do the lampposts but we don't do them all the way at the top because it's quite high all the way at the top of a lamppost," he continued. "So we hang them at half mast like someone has died."
Council takes legal action over 20,000 flags
Some 20,000 flags are now said to be flying across Birmingham and nearby. Birmingham City Council is taking the case to the High Court on Tuesday in its bid to halt flaggers operating unlawfully across the city.
Council documents describe court intervention as 'a last resort' but say it has to act. The nub of the case is that flaggers have been "attaching flags to street furniture within Birmingham, including to lampposts, lighting columns, street signs, railings, bridges and barriers, without the consent, licence or permission of the council, or statutory authorisation" since August 2025.
Waqar Ahmed, Director of Community Safety, Resilience and Cohesion at Birmingham City Council, says in his statement: "The defendants have not been conducting themselves peacefully.
"The tone of their behaviour has been aggressive, and they have been harassing and intimidating local communities and residents."
Flag group hits back at council action
Raise the Colours and its founder Ryan Bridge have reacted to news that Birmingham City Council is taking the court action. They criticised the council's action, declaring it should be spending public funds on 'core services'.
Raise the Colours is not named in the injunction application, but its founding members Bridge and Elliott Stanley are named, along with other prominent flaggers including Julian Keane, Ross Child, Billy Allison, Ben Cullen and Mark Keating.
