HEADLINE: Commodities Rise and UK Flag Controversy: French Weather, Market Trends, and British Politics GUEST NAME: Simon Constable SUMMARY: John Batchelor speaks with Simon Constable about key commodities like copper up 16% and steel up 15% signaling str

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

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🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

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Summary

HEADLINE: Commodities Rise and UK Flag Controversy: French Weather, Market Trends, and British Politics GUEST NAME: Simon Constable SUMMARY: John Batchelor speaks with Simon Constable about key commodities like copper up 16% and steel up 15% signaling strong economic demand. Coffee prices remain very high at 52% increase. The conversation addresses French political turmoil, though non-citizens cannot vote. In the UK, the St. George's flag has become highly controversial, viewed by some as associated with racism, unlike the Union Jack. This flag controversy reflects a desire among segments like the white working class to assert English identity.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm John Batchewitt, Simon Constable.
0:06.0	He's in the south of France, but we're looking our eyes are north to the United Kingdom.
0:12.0	A troubled land, very, having to do with several details.
0:17.0	One will start with, the flag.
0:19.0	That's right. You assume that the flag of great britain is the union jack
0:25.2	very well known red white and blue crossed off very symmetrical there's another flag that is turned
0:31.6	into a controversy it's called st george's flag simon did you go up with st george's flag at school no when you we knew what the jr jr j George's flag. Simon, did you go up with St. George's flag at school?
0:39.8	No.
0:40.3	We knew what the St. George's flag was, which is a white flag with a vertical and horizontal
0:48.1	cross bars in red, and it represents St. George, fought the dragon and basically promoted Christianity.
0:58.5	And the other flags are somewhat different for the other countries in the United Kingdom,
1:03.4	like the Scottish sultire and the Welsh flag and then the Northern Ireland flag.
1:10.4	But we would never see one of those on their own in England.
1:14.8	We wouldn't see the St. George flag there.
1:17.1	We knew what it was.
1:19.0	We saw more when I was a child in 1970s,
1:22.7	and we saw more of the Union flag when the Queen had a celebration too, for being in office so long.
1:31.9	That was the 25th year that she was in office in 1977.
1:36.3	So it's very interesting.
1:37.6	But that isn't seen as a bad thing, whereas now you have the St. George flag being held where some people see that that is necessary to show their loyalty to England and to Englishness and the English culture and everything to do with that.
1:57.1	Some people also see that as racism.
2:04.2	And it's difficult to know how that's been coming about,
	...

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