Liberal Democrat councillor Ellie Hopgood and the removed flag (Image: Supplied)
A council taken over by Reform UK at the local elections this month has taken down the Ukrainian and LGBTQ+ Pride flags flying outside its headquarters. Nigel Farage's party secured 65 seats and overall control of Durham County Council following seismic results at the ballot box on May 1.
Less than a month after taking the reins, the new majority of Reform council has seen fit to order the two flags removed, leaving the Union Jack, flag of St George and the County Council banner flying outside the county hall building at Aykley Heads, in Durham. The move has sparked anger from Liberal Democrat councillor Ellie Hopgood, whose party previously ran the authority in coalition with the Conservatives and independents.
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Ms Hopgood said the decision to remove the flags has happened just days before a Pride in Armed Forces march in Durham on Saturday.
She told the Daily Express: "We don't need to choose between pride flags and the Union Jack. We can have both. We can honour our country at the same time we honour the sacrifice of those who served it.
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Durham County Council was taken over by Reform UK in elections in May (Image: Claire McKie/ ChronicleLive )
"Even Reform surely realise that this is totally unacceptable ahead of a celebration of those who have served in our military. Nigel Farage needs to step in, urge his councillors to apologise and reinstate these flags ahead of this show of respect to our armed forces."
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Ms Hopgood raged that she believed Reform were more interested in sharing the Russian flag than supporting Ukraine, adding: "To tear down these flags ahead of Saturday’s Pride in Armed Forces event shows a complete disrespect to all those who have served our country’s military."
The council's deputy leader, Reform UK's Darren Grimes, who himself is gay, defended the decision to remove the pride flag and told the BBC the party was not anti-gay but was "anti-tokenism".
Durham County Council have been taken over by a Reform UK majority (Image: Claire McKie/ ChronicleLive )
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Mr Grimes, a former GB News presenter, said he was proud the council was flying the Union Jack, flag of St George and the County Durham flag.
He added: "As a gay man and the Deputy Leader of Durham County Council, I’m proud to fly three flags from County Hall - the Union Jack, the flag of St George, and the County Durham flag. Together, they represent every Briton - gay or straight, black or white, Christian, Sikh, or otherwise - who has fought, died, and sacrificed under those colours.
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"The Liberal Democrats - a party that tried to overturn the largest democratic vote in our history and still can’t define what a woman is - are in no position to lecture anyone on respect. Flying our national and local flags is an act of unity. Swapping them out for niche political symbols is just more toxic identity politics.
"Let’s be crystal clear: no one in Reform UK is 'anti-gay' - least of all me. But we are anti-tokenism. Our armed forces, gay and straight, didn’t fight for the Pride flag, the Ukraine flag, or any other flag-of-the-month. They fought for Britain - and they deserve to see their flag flown with pride."
The Daily Express have contacted Durham County Council for comment.