Dear Editor,
An open letter from the Director of Bishop Auckland Pride to Cllr Andrew Husband, Leader of Durham County Council, Cllr Darren Grimes, Portfolio Holder for Policy and Communication and Cllr Nicola Lyons, Portfolio Holder for Stronger Communities and Belonging, regarding the Removal of the Pride Flag at Durham County Council Headquarters.
Two weeks ago, the Pride flag was removed from Durham County Council’s headquarters. The timing—on the first day of a new administration, days before Durham Pride, and a week before Pride Month—sends a cruel message. The choice felt deliberate and callous.
Flags are tokens. They’re meant to be. They stand for more than fabric and metal—they symbolise stories, values, struggles, and belonging.
The Union Jack, St George’s Cross, and County Durham flags are tokens of unity and spirit. The presence of one flag does not invalidate another. It is entirely possible to be British and English. Removing the Pride flag as an act of “anti-tokenism” is absurd.
I was lucky enough to be born in the 1990s. I’ve grown up contending with rejection, bullying, and injustice—but I’ve never feared for my life. That wasn’t the case for generations before me.
We’ve come this far because of Pride Month, because of Pride festivals, because of the Pride flag. We cannot afford to take the protections we’ve earned for granted.
The uncomfortable truth is that LGBT+ people need protection. I need the Pride flag. The fact is, you inherited it flown. I know you wouldn’t have chosen to raise it, but confiscating it is different.
The Pride flag offered symbolic protection. It told those who wanted to hurt us that our leaders would protect us.
We are already seeing a wave of hatred online—a sharp rise from previous years. Unchecked, slurs will become more common. Abuse more likely. Its removal tells me that the protection is gone, and that’s frightening. Around the world, where the Pride flag doesn’t fly, people like me are persecuted.
I thought it was celebrated in Britain that love was unarranged.
Despite what the comment sections might say, Pride has never been about sexual activity. It’s those who oppose Pride who tend to make it about that. Pride is about protection, relationships, and community—and the Pride banner was an extension of that. In its absence, for the first time in my life, I’m fearful.
Let me be clear: this isn’t about identity politics. It’s about social protection. I am asking my leaders to show local leadership to the tens of thousands of LGBT+ people living across the county. Please reconsider. It’s not too late to raise the Pride flag—if only for one month. Even for one day.
I’m not asking you to like me. I’m asking you to save me.
Thomas Wales,
Director of Bishop Auckland Pride
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
