Reform council narrowly passes bill to allow Union flag to be flown on town hall all year

A Reform council have narrowly voted in favour of allowing the Union flag to be flown all year round above public buildings, including the town hall.

Calderdale Council's governance and business committee voted in favour of the flags by four votes to three on Monday evening, and will now go to the full council before a final decision.

The Union flag is set to fly from Halifax Town Hall all year round, in a "mark of respect to all the peoples of our great nation".

Reform UK's Mayor of Calderdale, Councillor Andrew Tagg, approved the move after securing a seat during the local elections in May, with Reform seizing overall control of the council.

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The measure would see the Union flag, the Cross of St George, the Council flag, Yorkshire flag, and the Armed Forces flag fly on civic buildings, with "ad hoc" applications to be made to the council leader to fly other flags.

There are already designated days when the Union flag must be flown on Government buildings by command of the King, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport also encouraging the flying of the Union flag all year round.

The Government department also "encourages" councils and other local organisations to "follow suit where they wish to fly flags".

The flag flying protocol includes 16 "designated days", which mark birthdays of past and present royals, as well as Commonwealth Day, Coronation Day, and the Poppy Appeal, among others.

The approved protocol states: "To ensure consistency in approach to requests made to do so then it is proposed that, as part of this protocol, those requests are initially received by the Head of Legal & Democratic Services who must undertake appropriate consultation ahead of referring the request to the Mayor for a decision.

"The consultation, where appropriate, should include Group Leaders, the Chief Executive and relevant Chief Officers and an Equality Impact Assessment to assess how the flying of a particular flag might affect people with different characteristics protected by law, such as age, disability, race and sexual orientation."

Reform UK Calderdale posted on its Facebook that the group was "proud to see" the Union Flag getting recognition.

The post read: "We will put an end to past administration's flying of foreign flags and symbols of division. We are proud of our great nation and its history."

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Labour councillor Scott Patient, representing the Luddendenfoot ward, voted against the move and said that "the flying of the Union flag on its own is not enough in terms of being inclusive within Calderdale."

He said: "I think that Reform councils across the country have been shown to be quite steadfast in their 'let's just fly the England flag or the Union flag'. And they have shown, where requests have been put in, to be quite inflexible."

Green councillor Dan Wood, for Northowram and Shelf ward, also voted against the proposal.

He said: "I don't know why we would waste council time on making our current policy less inclusive and more regressive. The proof will be in the pudding."

He claimed he held reservations about the move, believing residents would attempt to fly other flags beyond the selection documented in the policy.

Reform councillor Stephen Padgett OBE responded to concerns raised about the effect of continuously flying the Union flag, citing his 37-year military career, and how he wore the flag daily as part of his uniform.

He said: "I cannot think you need to have too much concern that it will diminish the significance for people."

Kate Dearden, Labour MP for Halifax, previously said the council was "making a mistake" by not flying the LGBTQ+ flag, given the site is associated with Britain's "first modern lesbian".

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