Meetings to end with national anthem at Reform-led council

Published: 00:08, 22 May 2026 | Updated: 00:15, 22 May 2026 Reform's flagship council has voted through changes to introduce the Lord's Prayer and the national anthem at meetings for 'patriotism and heritage'. Members at Kent County Council have approved updates to its constitution, following a vote on Thursday. It means council meetings will start with the recital of the Lord's Prayer and end with singing of the national anthem. Putting forward the move, Reform UK councillor Christopher Hespe said: 'We are a Christian monarchy, and this is about standards, it's about patriotism, it's about heritage and it's about our roots. It's about grounding us and accepting that we have duties and responsibilities.' Council officers have been prompted to ensure the approved recommendations can be introduced in a lawful way. But Labour group leader Alister Brady opposed the motion, telling councillors that many 'religious' and 'patriotic' residents 'told me they see this as performative politics, and this proposal should be seen as an embarrassment'. He added: 'The council should be getting on with their jobs.' Meanwhile, some opposition members, such as Restore Britain's Oliver Bradshaw, said he supported the motion, with a word of warning: 'I do not want my religion turned into your prop. Reform's flagship council has voted through changes to introduce the Lord's Prayer and the national anthem at meetings for 'patriotism and heritage' 'Let us ensure this is a genuine act of respect for faith, not as a piece of political theatre and posturing.' Other changes approved included cutting the time allowed for opposition party leaders to respond at meetings, with a minimum limit of two minutes each. But Restore Britain's group deputy leader, Maxine Fothergill, said she did not believe cutting opposition speaking time while expanding ceremonial additions 'sends the right message'. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.