Flying Pride flag 'restored some faith' among Warwickshire County Council staff

Flying the Pride flag has “restored some faith” among LGBTQ+ staff at Warwickshire County Council – but at least two more Reform UK councillors are known to have voiced objections.

The council raised the Pride flag or an evolved version of it throughout June – Pride month – prior to Reform UK taking control at Shire Hall through the May 2025 local elections.

Then-interim and now permanent leader Councillor George Finch (Reform UK, Bedworth Central) asked chief executive Monica Fogarty to take it down before the end of June 2025. She refused, her email about it was leaked and an online storm swiftly brewed.

That prompted the formalisation of a flag policy where the chair of the council, its civic and ceremonial lead, fields requests and decides whether anything other than the Union flag, the St George’s cross, the flag of Warwickshire or the Armed Forces flag are raised at the front of the council building.

Reform’s objections to raising the Pride flag continues to divide opinion with the current chair, Conservative Councillor Dale Keeling (Dunsmore & Leam Valley), reaching for the compromise of putting it up from the single flagpole at the front of Old Shire Hall, the Warwickshire County Council building at the back of the current headquarters. It cannot be seen from the front of Shire Hall.

Cllr Keeling is known to have received an objection from portfolio holder for children & families, education and SEND Councillor Wayne Briggs (Reform UK, Arbury) alleging that the Pride movement had been “hijacked by groomers and mentally ill men in dresses gyrating in front of children”.

A printout of that email was posted to the chair of Warwickshire Pride, encouraging a freedom of information (FOI) request to be submitted alongside the suggestion that there were more.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service submitted an FOI with Warwickshire County Council asking for all correspondence to and from Cllr Keeling in relation to this request to fly the Pride flag, one that was initially filed in mid-May by Councillor Dean Richards (Con, Admirals & Cawston).

It did not throw up the email which Cllr Briggs has publicly acknowledged he sent. We flagged this anomaly with the county council and a fresh search is being conducted.

It did show that two other Reform councillors, including another cabinet member, urged Cllr Keeling to think again.

Portfolio holder for environment, heritage and culture Councillor Darren Cheshire (Nuneaton East) wrote: “My concern is not with any individual or group but with the principle that council buildings should remain neutral and represent all residents equally.

“In my view, the Pride flag is not part of our shared civic heritage or traditional symbols and should not be displayed on public buildings.

“I am also concerned that displaying the flag may create division within the community at a time when we should be focusing on bringing people together.

"The council should seek to unite residents around common values and community interests rather than promote symbols associated with particular causes.

“We all know at the moment that the current government, with recent issues, (is) intent on creating division.”

Councillor Stuart Green (Reform UK, Kingsbury) wrote: “What would be good in my humble opinion is if we could remind all groups that reside in the great county of Warwickshire (and) request individual flags to fly at specific times of the year is (that) the Union Jack flag represents everyone, the St George’s cross flag represents everyone and the Warwickshire flag represents everyone. Perfect.”

However, Cllr Keeling was congratulated by Angela Dunne, the chair of Warwickshire County Council’s LGBTQ+ Staff Network.

“Though we are disappointed that it is not the current flag – the Intersex-inclusive Progress Pride flag – as our trans siblings need our support now more than ever, we recognise that this was the easiest to arrange logistically,” she wrote, referencing the planning requirements that had to be checked with Warwick District Council to ensure a lawful decision was made.

“It has restored some faith that LGBTQ+ colleagues are considered and valued members of the workforce," she concluded.

An email from Cllr Keeling to the Conservative group’s political assistant also emerged from the FOI request. It followed Cllr Cheshire’s submission and noted that “a few of these are coming in”.

The chair also shared the opinion that: “I think we did okay as the three main flags outside Shire Hall are remaining and will not be replaced.”