Bradford councillors have approved new rules restricting which flags can be flown from City Hall, following a lengthy and often heated debate over community representation and civic unity.
The motion, debated during a full council meeting on 16 July, means that only a limited number of flags can now be flown without approval from the full council.
Under the revised policy, flags including the Union Flag, St George’s Flag, the Yorkshire Flag, Armed Forces flags, emergency service flags and commemorative flags linked to the Bradford City fire can be flown automatically.
Any request to fly other flags including those representing foreign nations, cultural groups or social causes will now require a positive vote from the full council.
The proposal was originally brought forward by Conservative cllr Paul Sullivan, who argued the changes would help promote unity across the district.
Speaking during the debate, Cllr Sullivan said: “This motion is to promote unity in our communities by making the flag policy relevant to ordinary Bradfordians.” He argued that the existing policy contained inconsistencies and questioned why some causes and commemorations were recognised while others were not.
However, several councillors strongly opposed the proposal, arguing that it risked excluding communities and creating division where none existed.
Green cllr Anna Watson described the motion as “an unnecessary attempt to manufacture a problem that isn’t a problem.” She said: “This motion is not about cohesion. It’s about preventing the council from recognising the many different communities that make up our city.”
Cllr Watson also questioned why cultural or community flags should face greater restrictions than those linked to sporting events.
Labour cllr Suhail Choudhry argued that the previous flag policy had not caused significant problems and warned that the changes could politicise community celebrations. He said: “Do we want to sit here and decide which communities are worthy of recognition? Do we want to turn moments of pride into political debates?”
Independent councillor Ishtiaq Ahmed also challenged the need for reform. “The question we must ask is what problem this motion is trying to solve,” he said. “The question we must ask is what problem this motion is trying to solve. It is an attempt to create a problem when one doesn’t exist.”
Reform UK cllr Ian Eglin supported tightening the policy, saying the Union Flag promotes unity while other flags can be divisive.
“Put up a special interest flag and you will probably offend more people than you please,” he told the meeting.
The final version of the motion was amended by Reform UK before being approved by 42 votes to 40.
The successful amendment states that requests to fly any flag outside a defined list of approved civic, national and commemorative flags must be considered and approved by the full council.
