'We should be proud of our heritage': Council could limit flags flown on public buildings under new proposal

Councillors in West Yorkshire are set to hold a flag flying debate less than a year after voting to implement new protocols.

In October 2025, the council, then under Labour control, voted in favour of continuing to fly the Union flag from all of its major buildings across the district.

At the time, councillors also agreed to allow the St George’s flag to be flown from on April 23 and Yorkshire’s white rose on August 1 every year.

The council is now controlled by Reform UK after it won 58 out of 63 council seats in May.

Reform councillor Jamie McGrevy has tabled a new motion calling for the Armed Forces Day flag to be added to the permitted list but for no others to be flown from council-managed buildings.

Coun McGreavy, who represents Altofts and Whitwood, said: “As a council, we should be proud of our English heritage.

“We should no longer feel hesitant about expressing pride in being British and in what the Cross of St George, Union Jack, Armed Forces Day flag and the Yorkshire flag represents.

“For far too long recently, some groups have expressed that they feel uncomfortable or intimidated by our national flag – the British flag, the flag our forefathers fought and died under.

“It is important that we reaffirm that our national symbols belong to everyone and represent our shared history, identity, and values.”

Coun McGrevy has asked councillors to vote in favour of updating the policy “to reflect that only the flags approved in this motion may be flown from public buildings owned and managed by the council.”

The motion also states: “Our council buildings are public institutions – they belong to every resident, regardless of background, belief, or political view.

“Because of that, the symbols we choose to display on them must represent all of us, not just some of us.

“The Cross of St George, the Union Jack, and The Yorkshire Flag and the Armed Forces Day flag are the only flags that meet that test.

“The flags of St George and the Union Flag are our national symbols.

“They represent the constitutional identity of England and the United Kingdom.

“They are recognised in law, in tradition, and in the long history of our country.

“These flags do not speak for one group or one cause—they speak for the nation.

“Our National and Yorkshire flags achieve that. They are neutral in the sense that they belong to everyone, regardless of personal views.

“They are not tied to political movements, campaigns, or cultural debates. They are simply the symbols of our country.”

A council vote was held nine months ago after the authority’s then opposition leader called for it to become compulsory for the flag of St George to be flown on all schools and public buildings.

Nadeem Ahmed said the move would help prevent England’s national flag being “misappropriated by groups seeking to divide communities and promote intolerance.”

Councillors instead voted for an amended motion that removed the requirement for schools to compulsorily display the flag.

Coun McGrevy’s new motion will be debated at a full council meeting on July 29.