Right wing political party Reform UK are set to ban councils from flying Pride flags, allowing only the union jack, St George’s flag and county flags on council buildings.
The flag, which is used to demonstrate allyship with the LGBTQ+ community, will be banned alongside the flying of the Ukraine flag, which has been flown since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022 to show solidarity.
Chairman for Reform Zia Yusuf said, “No other flags will be permitted to be flown on its flagpoles, balconies, reception desks or council chamber walls” (via The Independent).
Reform, which is led by Nigel Farage, currently controls 10 councils across England – Durham, Kent, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Doncaster, North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire and Lincolshire.
The announcement comes shortly after VE Day, a remembrance day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany’s unconditional surrender.
Labour MP James Frith said of the flag ban from Reform, “On VE Day, we remember Britain’s proud tradition of standing with allies against tyrants. It speaks volumes that Reform’s first act after their election gains is to ban the Ukrainian flag in the very week we honour the fight against dictatorship.
A Reform spokesperson said, “Reform UK will proudly fly the union jack, St George’s flag and county flags. Unlike Labour, we are proud of our country and history.”
George Jones, who runs events for Reform, was caught on camera last year during an election campaign calling a Pride flag displayed on a police car a “f**king degenerate flag”.
“You see that f**king degenerate flag on the front bonnet? What are the old bill doing promoting that crap? They should be out catching nonces, not promoting the f*****s,” he was reported as saying.
Reform narrowly won a seat in Parliament in the 2 May local elections, despite their extreme anti-LGBTQ+ and immigration policies. The party won the Runcorn & Helsby seat by just six votes, after the incumbent Labour MP Mike Amesbury was convicted for assault, an incident that triggered the by-election.
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