Reform makes its decision on new flag flying policy at Leicestershire County Council HQ

The claims come as Reform UK met to debate which flags can be flown at County Hall and when.

A meeting to discuss the new policy lasted less than seven minutes on Thursday (June 12) and involved no discussion on the changes between new cabinet members. Council leader Dan Harrison said the Union flag and county flag would “fly permanently” from two of the three poles in front of County Hall in Glenfield.

The third pole would fly either the St George’s flag or the Lord Lieutenant’s flag if he is present at County Hall on official duties. A fourth pole, which is in the inner quadrangle, would be used to “mark events such as Armed Forces Day, Commonwealth Days and Armistice Day”.

Cllr Harrison said decisions over whether to fly other banners, such as the rainbow flag for Pride month and the disabled people’s flag during Disability History Month, will be delegated to the chief executive “following consultation with the leader of the council”.

It is a move which has left staff, including those from LGBT+, disability and BAME groups, concerned flags celebrating their communities will not be flown going forward. Cllr Harrison has promised to sit down with representation groups to discuss their concerns.

One member of staff, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said they feel like “in many ways [they are] back in the closet”. They said: “This is a sign that I am ‘different’ and my family is ‘different’. We can get on with our lives, but we need to keep it to ourselves.

“I joined the council because I could be myself at work and not spend energy on hiding parts of myself and my family. It meant I could focus on my job and do my best for the people of Leicestershire.

“By not flying the rainbow flag, the council is saying: ‘It’s not safe to be yourself, you’re not welcome here.”

The previous policy saw the council fly the Union flag, county flag and either the Commonwealth flag or, on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian flag on the three poles at the front of County Hall. The Lord Lieutenants flag would also be flown there when he was present.

The inner quadrangle’s pole was used to fly flags relating to community events and celebration days, such as the Armed Forces flag, Pride flag and the disabled people’s flag during Disability History Month.

Cllr Harrison was quizzed about the policy after the meeting. He said: “When you look at how many flags have been flown throughout the year, it just goes on and on and on, so there’s a lot of flag flying.

“That’s not what we really would like. We’d like to see the national flag, our union flag, flying as it has historically across all public buildings across the country. The staff are protected by law, so they’re safe in their environment. If they wish to fly flags, they could always fly them at home if they want to […]

“I will meet with their groups and assure them that their health, their safety, the [working] environment will be safe. Nobody would ever disrespect anybody because there’s a law to protect them, and we as a county council will guide the way to protect those people.”

He added: “Everybody is safe and protected in this environment. All we’re not doing is flying a multitude of various flags throughout the year, but it won’t affect the safety, it won’t affect the protocol at work.”

However, Conservative leader of the opposition Deborah Taylor said she does not believe the changes will “do anything for staff morale”. She said: “The flags are flown in the inner quadrangle, which only staff can see, it’s not a public flag, it’s for the staff that work here. I don’t see how changing that is going to benefit anyone. It’s just going to make staff feel very insecure and unsafe working at the county council.”

She also criticised the lack of discussion in the meeting room, saying: “It just seemed like it was a done deal before they’d even got in the cabinet room, which is not very transparent to the public and there were no views expressed about what this policy might mean to the staff working groups and everyone else that works at the county council.”

Criticism has also been levelled at the new administration over the fact they called a special meeting of the cabinet at short notice to approve the new policy. New Green councillor Naomi Bottomley said: “I am so disappointed that the Reform cabinet have decided to waste time and resources holding this meeting – which doesn’t solve or even attempt to address any of the issues facing residents in Leicestershire.”

The LDRS put these criticisms to Cllr Harrison and asked why the policy could not be included in next week’s cabinet meeting. He said: “We’re not doing anything wrong, and it would have been the same result if we waited a week, a fortnight, six months.

“It was our decision to go now and to deal with this as we have done. That’s democracy […] Every government comes in and they change things."

The LDRS pressed Cllr Harrison how potentially not flying certain flags “benefits the public”. He said: “Well, it does. It’s part of our scheme. We’ll save some money.

“I don’t know how much it is, storing flags, putting them up and all sorts. It’s probably a small amount, but every little bit counts, so it’s just part of it.”

The LDRS asked Leicestershire County Council how much the new policy was expected to save. A spokeswoman said they “couldn’t put a figure on it”. She added: “It’s a small figure, but hard to quantify.”