Final decision made on Reform UK's controversial Leicestershire flag policy

The final decision over which flags can be raised at Leicestershire County Council’s headquarters, in Glenfield, follows much controversy on the subject in recent weeks.

The first iteration of the new Reform UK policy would have seen decisions over flag flying for events and celebration days made on a case-by-case basis, leaving some staff concerned flags representing their groups would not be displayed going forwards. This prompted significant backlash from staff within Leicestershire County Council, who feared the changes would “promote exclusion and marginalisation”.

Opposition groups also came out against the policy, criticising it as unclear. The opposition groups called in the new policy for debate, and ultimately told Reform UK to think again and to clarify exactly which flags would be able to be flown at County Hall.

At a meeting on Thursday, July 3, cabinet members voted through an amended, and final, version of the policy. This will see the Union flag and county flag fly from two of the three poles at the front of County Hall. The third will have either the St George’s flag or the Lord Lieutenant’s flag if he is in residence.

This is not dissimilar to the council’s old policy, which saw the Union flag, county flag and either the Commonwealth flag or, on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian flag occupy the three poles at the front of the building, with the Lord Lieutenant’s flag also flown there when he was present.

The Union flag will also fly from the fourth pole at County Hall, located in the inner quadrangle. This pole will also be used for flags to mark Armed Forces Day, Commonwealth Day and Armistice Day.

In “exceptional national or international events”, the fourth pole could see other flags flown, with the chief executive and leader of the council to decide on those on a case-by-case basis. This means flags to celebrate communities, such as the Pride flag and the disabled people’s flag, will not be flown at County Hall going forward.

Reform UK’s Councillor Dan Harrison, leader of Leicestershire County Council, said in a statement after the meeting: “The new approach is the simplest and most inclusive. It represents every single person in this county and means we can mark our heritage and culture.

“Let me be clear – this is not about division, it’s about celebrating values which unite us all.”

The council’s cabinet lead for resources, Reform UK’s Helen Butler, told the meeting: “It’s quite simple, we’re here to take our country back. This building is funded by local taxpayers, it belongs to the people and it should represent everyone, not just a loud minority or a political agenda.

“That’s why we don’t want to fly foreign flags and we don’t want to fly political flags. The Pride flag, while once seen as a symbol of inclusion, has now become a political statement, and political symbols have no place on official buildings.”

The council’s lead member for health, Reform UK’s Michael Squires, told the meeting that as a member who is “gay, mixed raced and has autism”, he believed that the “most inclusive policy for everybody” was to fly “politically neutral” flags.