Town Hall staff 'welcome Pride flag' in face of MP

The authority decided to fly the Progress Pride flag after the town's MP said the emblem should not be flown on public buildings

Council workers who identify as LGBTQ+ have said they welcomed a decision to fly the Progress Pride flag following comments from a town's MP.

Rupert Lowe, Reform UK's MP for Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, said the flag should not be flown from public sector buildings as it promoted "gender identity ideology" that he disagreed with.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council's Conservative cabinet then voted to fly the flag at the Town Hall and said it had cross-party support.

Council leader Carl Smith said staff members had messaged him to say how they appreciated the support. Mr Lowe declined the BBC's request for interview.

Carl Smith said the authority was flying the Progress Pride flag both as a symbol of support and in defiance

Smith said raising the flag, which is a variation of the original Pride flag, was an act of defiance in the face of the MP's comments.

"It's our building and we fly lots of different flags here and we've done this to support the LGBT community [over] the hateful comments that have been made on Facebook," he said.

"We've had praise from our staff who are from the LGBT community that we are showing them our support against what has been said, and the hateful comments that have been made towards them because of [Lowe's] comments about flying these flags from public buildings."

Rupert Lowe, one of five Reform UK candidates elected to Parliament in July, said "public sector institutions should not be pushing this flag"

Previously, Lowe posted a Facebook message that said hospitals were "telling us to not say that babies are 'born female' or 'born male', but they are 'assigned' at birth".

He called it "dangerous woke nonsense" and "biologically inaccurate".

Lowe declined the BBC's request for an interview, but sent a statement which said: "Public sector institutions should not be pushing this flag.

"The gender ideology promoted within it is disturbing, and advances the idea that children are often born in the 'wrong' body. This sends an entirely warped message to young people, which can have incredibly concerning consequences, as has been proven through the Cass Review.

"There are men, and there are women. That is a biological fact. It is confusing and potentially dangerous to confuse that in a healthcare or educational setting.

"We must respect everyone's individual choices, and everyone is free to live as they choose, but that does not change scientific reality.

"There are many challenges within the public sector, particularly the NHS. Public sector leadership should focus on dealing with those, before promoting gender ideology."