Opinion: Nearly a Month Into Reform Rule, Hartlepool Council’s Flags Remain Untouched
- 50 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Reform Councils Elsewhere Hauled Down the Flags — Why Has Hartlepool Stayed Silent?
6th June 2026
Nearly a month has passed since Reform UK swept the board in Hartlepool’s local elections, winning every seat contested and bringing Labour’s control of the council to an abrupt end.
The party now leads Hartlepool Borough Council as a minority administration, with Councillor Graham Harrison appointed as council leader and Councillor Mike Young serving as his deputy.
Although Reform doesn't have enough councillors to make every decision alone, the party is now firmly in the driving seat. Residents who voted for change will understandably be watching closely to see what that change looks like in practice. But one highly visible question remains unanswered.
Why do the Pride flag and the Ukrainian flag still appear to be flying at Hartlepool Civic Centre?
This may not be the most important issue facing the town. Hartlepool has serious challenges involving council finances, deteriorating public services, struggling communities and an increasingly strained relationship between residents and the troubled Teesside Institution, nevertheless, flags are not meaningless pieces of fabric. When they're flown from prominent public buildings, they make a political and cultural statement. That's precisely why councils choose to display them in the first place.
Reform Councils Elsewhere Have Already Acted
Reform UK has previously taken a clear position on the flags displayed by other local councils now under its leadership.
The party has argued that council buildings should fly national, English and appropriate local flags rather than becoming platforms for political causes or international campaigns. Reform-led councils elsewhere have moved quickly to put that position into practice.
In Kent, the new Reform administration confirmed that Pride and Ukrainian flags would be removed from public buildings. In County Durham, the rainbow flag was removed from council headquarters and funding for Pride events was withdrawn, with the council arguing that taxpayers should not be expected to finance causes that some residents may regard as politically contested.
Whether readers agree with those decisions or not, the approach was at least clear.
Hartlepool’s position isn't.
The Ukrainian Flag Raises Legitimate Questions
The continued display of the Ukrainian flag is likely to remain controversial.
A small minority of people sympathise deeply with ordinary Ukrainians affected by war they clearly started, but that doesn't mean a British local council must permanently fly the flag of a foreign country above its civic headquarters.
Ukraine also continues to face significant and well-documented corruption concerns. Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index ranks the country 104th out of 182 nations, with a score of 36 out of 100.
It's therefore perfectly reasonable to question why Hartlepool Borough Council should continue to display the Ukrainian flag indefinitely when the Civic Centre is supposed to represent the people of Hartlepool.
The Pride Flag Debate Is About Neutrality
The debate around the Pride flag is equally sensitive, but the principle very much straightforward. Every Hartlepool resident should be treated fairly and with dignity, regardless of their background or personal circumstances. Removing a flag should never be presented as an attack on individual residents or used as an excuse for hostility towards anyone. However, a council building should not be expected to grandstand the flag of every campaign, movement or cause seeking public recognition.
Once a local council begins selecting which causes deserve a place on its flagpoles, it inevitably makes political choices. Some residents will feel represented by those choices. Others will feel ignored.
That's why many people believe the most inclusive and neutral option is also the simplest one: fly the Union Flag prominently and allow the Civic Centre to represent the entire town, not the needs of certain minorities, some of which, have a hidden agenda.
Hartlepool Clearly Voted for a Change of Direction
Reform UK’s success in Hartlepool didn't happen by accident. Many voters are sick & tired of the symbolic gestures being made by the local council whilst basic council services decline. Locals are tired of being lectured about values by institutions that appear to be incapable of cleaning streets properly, managing public money effectively or responding openly to legitimate questions.
That doesn't mean every problem can be fixed in a few weeks. Councillor Harrison is entitled to take time to understand the council’s finances and decide where meaningful reforms can be made.
But Reform’s silence over the flags has not gone unnoticed. Residents who supported the party will be asking whether Hartlepool’s new administration intends to follow the approach adopted by Reform-led councils elsewhere, or whether it will quietly accept the symbolic decisions inherited from the previous administration.
The Council Should State Its Position
Its not a call for unnecessary division. It's merely a request for clarity.
Does Hartlepool Borough Council intend to continue flying the Pride flag and the Ukrainian flag at the Civic Centre?
Does the new Reform-led administration support their continued display?
Will the Union Flag be given greater prominence as the shared national symbol capable of representing every resident, rather than one particular cause or campaign?
Reform UK promised a change of direction. Hartlepool voters will now expect to see evidence of it.
The Civic Centre should represent Hartlepool as a whole.
The new administration therefore needs to explain whether it intends to make that principle visible.
