Belfast City council have voted to fly the Union Flag on a limited number of days each year on the City Hall instead of every day.

[sandyRoe]

And a riot followed. Are flags flying every day on city halls across the rest of the UK?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20589954

[jake-the-peg]

Apparently this is in line with what happens on Stormont

This allows for the flying of the Union Flag over public buildings such as Stormont on 17 designated days, including the Queen's official birthday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17674746

[youngmafbog]

The rest of the UK is not being told they can't do it (apart from Bradfordistan probably) so why would they riot?

[humbersloop]

A sorry tale that does no credit to those who engineered the trouble sandy

although ( to be predictable), if there's one place it'll be flown the right way up...

[jake-the-peg]

They should fly the *European* Union flag every day and then everybody would be happy!

[douglas9401]

Today a flag, tomorrow not enough sauce on a kebab.

Any excuse or none for thuggery.

[ichkeria]

It is a sensible decision. There us no need for the Union Flag to be flown all the time from the City Hall. Like it or not these are serious issues in N Ireland for which ancestors of sanctimonious mainland Brits are not entirely blameless

[anotheoldgit]

It would seem that there are those across the Irish sea who are more patriotic towards the Union flag than those on the mainland.

Could you ever see the tolerant English person taking to the streets because their council refused to fly the Union flag?

[ichkeria]

It's right and proper for the Union Flag to fly over City Hall on certain special occasions and it will continue to do so.
In places like Northern Ireland, where each tradition can feel its identity challenged by the other, it is more natural for people to identify with symbols such as flags which are 'worn' as a confirmation of identity. And consequently feelings not necessarily classifiable as 'patriotic' run higher. Having the Union Flag over the City Hall all the time marks the building out as a symbol of Unionism with all the accompanying baggage

[anotheoldgit]

/// Having the Union Flag over the City Hall all the time marks the building out as a symbol of Unionism with all the accompanying baggage ///

Having the Union Flag over the City Hall all the time marks the building out as a symbol of Great Britain with all the accompanying pride that goes with it.

[sandyRoe]

If only it was as simple as that. Many Unionists see the flag as theirs and where it's displayed as theirs too. Half of the population of Belfast now aren't from the unionist tradition and see this never ending business about flags as provocative coat-trailing.