Reform UK council pays £75,000 for union flag scheme after no sponsors
A union flag display in Nottinghamshire, originally promised to be funded by local business sponsors, is now being paid for entirely by the council.
The Nottinghamshire county council, now under Reform UK control, has written a cheque for the full £75,000 cost of a union‑flag display programme after a promised line‑up of local business sponsors failed to materialise. The expense, which the party originally insisted would “not cost the taxpayer a single penny”, is now being absorbed by the authority itself, reigniting debate over Reform’s fiscal prudence and symbolic agenda.
In the autumn, the newly elected Reform‑led council agreed the plan to attach the flags to brackets on about 180 lamp-posts and other places. A report by the authority justified the £75,000 cost as a way to “enhance civic pride”, saying the national flag was “seen as embodying national unity and the collective values of all the peoples and communities of the United Kingdom”.
Media additions
After some criticism of the scheme and its cost, in December last year Lee Anderson, the Reform MP whose Ashfield seat is in the county and who is close to the council’s leader, Mick Barton, posted a video to social media. Filming himself in Ashfield at one of the flag sites, along with Barton and James Walker-Gurley, another Nottinghamshire council cabinet member, Anderson said:
“There’s been a few people moaning about these in … the usual third-rate media outlets, saying it’s cost £75,000 and it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
“Let me tell you: yes, it has cost £75,000 to put these up all throughout Nottinghamshire, but the good news is, it will not cost the taxpayer a single penny because we want to get these sponsored by local businesses.
“They’re going to pay for the fitting, the upkeep and the maintenance. And guess what: we’re actually going to make a profit on these … The people who are spouting this nonsense about its costing us a fortune – it’s not costing you a single penny.”
A Nottinghamshire council spokesperson said that, seven months later, no sponsors had been found, with the council paying for the scheme. The Nottinghamshire document agreeing the flag scheme said the brackets would additionally be used to hang banners informing people about local services. In his video, Anderson said they would also be used to advertise for foster carers and kinship carers.
Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, said: “Turns out 30p Lee is more like £75k Lee when it comes to spending taxpayers’ money.
“If this is how they’re handling council finances, it’s no wonder Reform have copied the Trumpian playbook and barred local journalists from being able to scrutinise them.”
The council has also attracted other controversy since Reform took control, notably a row over its ban on speaking to journalists from the area’s biggest local newspaper, which ended only after a threat of legal action. Reform councils often take a strong view on flags, with the party having said its policy is to fly only the union flag, St George’s flag and relevant county or local emblems. This means they no longer fly Ukrainian flags as a show of solidarity, a decision that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has lamented.
Financial scrutiny beyond the flag
A raft of donations to Reform UK from companies on the brink of liquidation, in breach of their legal reporting duties, or otherwise facing financial concerns are not under investigation by the Electoral Commission, the watchdog has told Byline Times. The Electoral Commission confirmed that, under current law, “a company may still be carrying on business in the UK if it is in liquidation, dormant or late in filing documents”, meaning such contributions are not automatically disqualified.
Political instability amplifies the fallout
Across the Irish Sea, the rise of Reform UK is being read as a factor in the United Kingdom’s mounting political volatility. The Irish Times linked the party’s ascent to “political instability and upheaval in London”, noting that such turbulence could reverberate into discussions about Irish unity and the future of the British‑Irish constitutional relationship.
The piece pointed out that “the future may not go down the predictable pathway of discussions and harmony”.
Parallel controversies in public contracts
Reform’s approach to public symbolism is not the only recent episode of party‑led scrutiny of state spending. Middle East Eye reported that incoming Labour prime‑minister‑in‑waiting Andy Burnham intends to end the NHS contract with US data‑surveillance firm Palantir.
The flag‑installment saga, while outwardly a matter of civic decoration, has become a flashpoint for broader concerns about Reform UK’s governance style, its financial networks and the political stability of a country where symbolic gestures can quickly become fiscal headaches.
