Flags at The Proms: Blue and Gold have become the colours of those calling for tolerance and openness in Britain

On Saturday night, the Royal Albert Hall was a sea of flags. Photograph: Interior of the Royal Albert Hall from Pixabay (License) (Cropped)

A plan by a small crowdfunded group, to hand out the European flag to be waved alongside the Union Flag at the Last Night of the Proms, is just the latest attempt by those among the 48ers to show their continued belief in an open and international Britain.

It is also the latest demonstration to provoke the ire of those in the Brexit camp. Every time there has been a show of support by 48ers, there has been a response of equal volume decrying the show as some kind of protest against democracy.

It is as if the most hardline Brexiters see the European flag as a direct attack on their identity - a challenge to their personal Britishness that must contested and squashed wherever it arises. That response is a profound overreaction.

The particularly notable thing about the best represented form of pro-European attitude in the UK is that it carries the belief that you can be British and European. It is inclusive. Support for membership of the European Union is not seen as the negation of Britishness, but distinctly part of it.

The support shown at gatherings where the Blue and Gold flags have been abundant has been for Britishness, to represent Britain, not to oppose it or protest against it - to celebrate a view of Britain that is tolerant, open and takes an international view.

Reducing these outpourings to the tantrums of "precious snowflakes", crying because they lost, who should "accept democracy", is itself a profoundly undemocratic attitude. Democracy is supposed to be about representation, not domination.

It also turns a blind eye to the reality of the hostility provoked by the Brexit vote - and ignores how the Blue and Gold was the starkest and simplest symbol that people could use to show their opposition to intolerance and their solidarity with the victims.

The reality at the Last Night of the Proms was that an overwhelming display of British pomp and ceremony, in a sea of Union flags, was dotted throughout with many other flags of which the European flag was just one - a nod to Britain's presence on the international stage.

The difference is that the planned presence of the Blue and Gold was taken as a personal affront. For those riled by its presence, they need to realise that it is no challenge to their personal identity - and that the 48ers also fear authoritarian attack on theirs.

Those fears are stoked when, amidst suddenly rising intolerance, thin-skinned patriots undemocratically question the legitimacy of celebrations for an opposition view that had the support of 48% of voters. Democracy begins in acknowledging the legitimacy of the opposing minorities and their right to dissenting views.

The stark lines of nationalism are reappearing across Europe. It would be a travesty for the UK to start suffering from the enforcement of a narrow 'Britishness' that leaves no room for other identities. That, in short, is what the Blue and Gold flag has come to stand for in Britain.

References

Ruth McKee's 'Campaigners hand out thousands of EU flags for Last Night of the Proms: Pro-EU group distributes crowdfunded flags to concertgoers for use during traditional union jack-waving performance'; in The Guardian; 10 September 2016.

'Last Night of the Proms 2016 in 3 minutes!'; on the BBC; 11 September 2016.

'Last Night of the Proms, Part Two'; on the BBC; 10 September 2016.

'EU flags waved at Last Night of the Proms in anti-Brexit protest: After raising £1,100 from crowdfunding, promenaders put a twist on the usual union jack-waving classical concert finale'; in The Guardian; 10 September 2016.

Alexandra Sims' 'Concertgoers wave EU flags alongside Union Jacks during Last Night of the Proms: 'Concert goers waving EU flags along with the Union Jack would send a message to the world and our own people about how much music lovers value the EU''; in The Independent; 11 September 2016.

Erica Jeal's 'Verdi Requiem/Last Night of the Proms review – Flórez steals the show on a night of a thousand flags'; in The Guardian; 11 September 2016.