Labour MP says Durham Pride will be ‘bigger and better’ despite Reform axing funding

Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy has said Durham Pride 2026 will be “bigger and better” than ever,  despite the “divisive” Reform UK-led council’s pulling of funds. 

On 14 August, Durham County Council’s deputy leader, Darren Grimes – a gay former GB News presenter – attacked the city’s Pride event, stating that the funding will instead be diverted to services that aren’t “contested causes”. 

Labour MP for the City of Durham, Mary Kelly Foy, told PinkNews the withdrawal of funding was no surprise, given the council had already removed a Pride flag outside County Hall.

But she stressed that Durham Pride 2026 was never at risk: the council “barely provided any funding” in the first place.

“The event doesn’t exist because of local authority funding. It exists because of its hardworking Chair, Mel Metcalf, and his Durham Pride team who gain funding from a variety of sources,” she said.

She noted Pride’s wider impact: “Through the success of Durham Pride’s work, the North East England Rainbow Alliance (NEERA) was born. NEERA consists of representatives from different agencies working toward raising awareness and improving responses for LGBT+ people living and working across County Durham and the wider North East. Membership of the group is approved by Durham Pride – I’m proud to be a member.”

‘Pride will raise the money’

Foy believes the event will be “bigger and better because of the fact that the council have come out trying to be divisive and spread hate”.

“Pride will raise the money. There’s no doubt about it,” she said, citing the “huge turnout” at a 5 September fundraising event.

That event, supporting both Pride and Durham’s Gala, was organised by Durham Pride with the Durham Miners Association and the Trades Union Congress (TUC). It included a screening of the 2014 film Pride about the 1984 miners’ strike, followed by a Q&A with panellists including Foy and guest Mike Jackson, co-founder of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners.

“If nobody else, trade unions will put money into it. It’s a brilliant event and it will go ahead,” she said, adding, “particularly at times like this when people and political parties are attempting to stop it”.

However, she doubts public support will change the administration’s direction, pointing to figures such as Grimes, whom she described as “an awful piece of work”.

‘Do the flags really offend you?’

Reflecting on LGBTQ+ resilience, she said: “History already demonstrates the LGBTQ+ community’s resilience and ability to overcome adversity, achieving significant progress despite facing discrimination and prejudice. What we’re seeing in County Durham is a ripple in the ocean compared to what came before, but as an LGBT+ ally I will not allow that ripple to turn into a wave.”

She went on to challenge those opposing Pride events: “So for those councillors hell bent on sewing division, and their supporters online, I would ask this: Do the flags really offend you? Does the thought of people loving who they want to love really offend you? Does the thought of being an inclusive county really offend you? Does a day dedicated to a marginalised community that has suffered discrimination and challenges that neither they nor I could never truly understand, really offend you?

Foy concluded: “Every year, on the march down to the Pride festival on The Sands, there is a wonderful elderly gentleman who stands on his balcony, welcoming the parade onto the field with his wooden ratchet (if you’ve attended Pride you’ll know who I mean). This is Durham. The tolerant and welcoming community who are proud to have such a fantastic Pride event taking place in our city.

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of their skin, their sexuality, or their religion. This is learned behaviour.

“It is perhaps time for some people – including some elected officials – to rapidly unlearn it.”

Foy added that Durham Pride has grown every year, now attracting tens of thousands to the city.

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