Post #3623405

It’s just a pride flag on a lamppost isn’t it? Well, not quite…. A week or two I posted that Calderdale Council had recently been won by Reform (hard right) and one of the first things they did was to declare that only the Union Jack and St George’s Cross flags could be hung from council property. That declaration prompted some degree of guerilla Pride flagging with them mysteriously appearing on lampposts around both the Town Hall and Shibden Hall (home of that rather famous Lesbian - Ann Lister). Anyway, those got removed but not long afterwards 30 of these appeared in various locations around Calderdale. The local council were very quick to acknowledge receipt of complaints, declare that they would immediately be removed as they were illegally erected and steps would be taken to identify the folks putting them up and prosecute them for repayment of the costs for removing the flags. Unfortunately…. what they failed to check before getting all high and mighty was that all the flags have been erected on council approved advertising sites (in this case - designated lampposts) and by the council appointed firm for managing them. In turns out a local councillor set up a fundraiser and got enough money to get the flags made and hire the sites and relevant contractors. As it stands at the moment, the council have no legal basis for their removal and because they were so high and mighty and publicly outraged when they thought it was guerilla flagging they’ve been exposed as having double standards for failing to have any other illegally erected flags immediately removed from their property. I’m sure this is just the opening salvo in this particular battle but at the moment it’s LGBTQIA+ 1, hard right council that doesn’t know their own rules 0. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg542763pko