On 3 December 2012, Belfast City Council voted to limit the days that the Union Flag (the flag of the United Kingdom) flies from Belfast City Hall. Since 1906, the flag had been flown every day of the year. This was reduced to 18 specific days a year, the minimum requirement for UK government buildings. The move to limit the number of days was backed by the council's Irish nationalists while the Alliance Party abstained from the vote; it was opposed by the unionist councillors.
As a response, Ulster loyalists and British nationalists held street protests throughout Northern Ireland. They saw the council's decision as part of a wider 'cultural war' against 'Britishness' in Northern Ireland. On the night of the vote, protesters tried to storm City Hall. Throughout December and January, protests were held almost daily and most involved the protesters blocking roads while carrying Union Flags and banners. Some of these protests led to clashes between loyalists and the police, sparking riots. Rioters attacked police with petrol bombs, bricks, stones and fireworks; police responded with plastic bullets and water cannon. Alliance Party offices and the homes of Alliance Party members were attacked, while Belfast City Councillors were sent death threats. According to police, some of the violence was orchestrated by high-ranking members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Loyalists also put up thousands of Union flags in public places, which further heightened tension.
After February 2013, the protests have been smaller and less frequent, and have led to greater loyalist protests about related issues, such as restrictions on traditional loyalist marches.
Background
Since the formation of Northern Ireland in 1921, there has been tension and violence between its two main religious groups. Unionists/Ulster loyalists (who are mostly Ulster Protestant) generally want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom, while Irish nationalists/republicans (who are mostly Catholic) generally want it to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. The former generally identify with the Union Flag, while the latter generally do not and instead identify with the Irish tricolour.
In Northern Ireland, flags are often used as symbols of political allegiance, cultural identity, and to mark territory. The flying of flags is an issue in Northern Ireland, and flying certain flags in certain places can be highly controversial. There have been many protests and clashes involving flags and symbols over the years. In 1964 there were riots after a republican election candidate put an Irish tricolour (which was then illegal) in the window of his office on the Falls Road, Belfast. The unionist Minister of Home Affairs, responding to pressure from hardliners, ordered police to remove the flag. This sparked fierce clashes between republicans and the police.
Belfast City Council had long been dominated by unionists, mainly the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). However, in May 2011 Irish nationalists (Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party) won more seats than unionists for the first time. The middle-ground Alliance Party held the balance of power on the council. Nationalist councillors wanted the Union Jack taken down permanently, and unionist councillors wanted it to keep flying all year. Alliance put forward a compromise: that it would fly on 18 designated days, in line with UK government policy on the flying of the union flag from UK government buildings, which is followed by many city and local governments in Britain. At Parliament Buildings (or Stormont), where the Northern Ireland Assembly meets, the Union Jack is only flown on 15 designated days. The nationalist and Alliance councillors voted in favour of this compromise and it was passed.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, the DUP had printed and distributed over 40,000 leaflets in East Belfast, with help from the UUP. The leaflets attacked Alliance and called on people to protest against its proposal. Alliance accused the unionists of trying to raise tensions. In the May 2010 general election, Naomi Long of Alliance had defeated Peter Robinson of the DUP to win the East Belfast seat. This was the first time that a non-unionist party had won the seat. It is thought that many unionists voted for Alliance as a protest at Robinson's financial misdealings. Some commentators believed that the DUP had been waiting for a chance to weaken the Alliance Party and win back their former voters in East Belfast.
During the middle of 2012, particularly in September, heightened tensions led to the 2012 North Belfast riots.