Reform councillor claims protesters ‘abused our flagpoles’ by hanging Pride flags
Reform councillor Keith Prince (Facebook/Councillor Keith Prince A.M.)
Fresh contention has erupted at Reform-controlled Havering Council after protesters attached Pride and Trans Pride flags to unused flagpoles outside the town hall on 25 June in response to the council’s decision not to fly Pride flags during Pride Month.
Council leader Keith Prince condemned the action in a 25 June video posted to X, describing those responsible as “trespassers” who had “abused our flagpoles”.
After the flags were removed, he said the poles were “once again abuse-free” and reiterated that, once repairs were completed, only the Union Flag would fly above the town hall.
Earlier this month, the council announced it would no longer display Pride flags on civic buildings, opting instead to fly only the Union Flag and the Armed Forces flag.
Havering Council’s previous administration called the move “disappointing,” while Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski described the policy as “Trumpian nonsense” online.
A spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ charity Kaleidoscope said the decision was “devastating” in a statement to The Standard, but stressed it would not erase Havering’s LGBTQ+ community.
The protest comes just days after the council also cancelled its planned Pride ceremony.
Reform UK has said its policy is to fly only flags representing the United Kingdom or the Armed Forces, arguing that the Union Flag represents everyone.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
