London —

In the United States, the Stars and Stripes are everywhere: on porches, lawns and pickup trucks. The national flag is part of the scenery, almost invisible in its ubiquity.

In England, flags are rarer. They usually surface only for royal jubilees, military commemorations or major sporting events.

But this summer, things are changing. The United Kingdom and English flags – the Union Flag and the Cross of St. George respectively – have sprung up across parts of the country in recent weeks, draped on street lamps, strung out across streets and even painted onto intersections.

For some, the spectacle is an act of patriotism – a community binding itself to its nation.

For others, it is a provocation – a sense that the flag is being weaponized to make asylum seekers and “illegal

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