“Come on, get real!” – Doncaster's Labour Mayor rejects controversial Reform UK ‘flag ban’

The Labour Mayor of Doncaster has refused to implement Reform UK’s motion on flags as council policy, after it was berated by her party colleagues in full council.

Mayor Jones and councillors from the Labour group and Conservatives spoke in high numbers against Councillor Jason Charity’s motion to restrict the flags allowed to be flown on council property to the union flag-only.

The motion, which was published last week, would have seen a number of flags, including Armed Forces flags, the Yorkshire Rose and the Pride Flag, banned from appearing on council buildings.

Mayor Jones said: “I don’t think this motion has been thought through.”

She told the council chamber it “lacks respect” for the armed forces and the patron saint of England – especially as the Women’s Euros are ongoing.

“Should we really turn around to our football fans and say ‘sorry we can’t display the flag of St George on council land and buildings because Doncaster Reform Councillors see it as not politically neutral’?,” she said, “Come on, get real”.

Cllr Charity introduced the motion with a lengthy speech insisting the motion would bring unity and inclusivity, as the union flag “represents everyone” in Doncaster.

He told the chamber: “Doncaster faces its biggest financial crisis in a generation. So why are we talking about flags? Because leadership isn’t just about budgets – it’s about identity, unity, and trust.

“We have a SEND budget in crisis with a £37m black hole, an £8.3m overspend in adult social care, an airport stalled, and public services stretched to their limits.

“Some will say we have bigger issues than flags. They’re absolutely right, we do. But let’s be clear about responsibility. The Executive has presided over these financial disasters. Full Council cannot fix those problems; that power rests with the Mayor and her Cabinet. But there is something we can do. We can set civic standards. We can signal a cultural reset. We can show leadership where it matters. And frankly, it’s long overdue.

“This motion is about ending the politics of division that has crept into our civic life. The current flag policy doesn’t unite, it divides. It picks winners and losers from our communities. It’s the current policy that does the banning, making overt choices about which causes deserve recognition and which don’t.

“My motion removes that discrimination. One flag – the Union Flag – representing everyone equally.

“I’m gay. And I’m not interested in virtue signalling. I don’t want a special flag to feel represented — I want to be treated the same as everyone else. No better, no worse. That’s what real inclusion means. I know what it’s like to feel excluded, to feel invisible. But I also know that inclusion isn’t achieved by hoisting a rainbow flag once a year, it’s achieved when we build a society that respects everyone, equally, every day.

“This motion isn’t about banning anything – it’s about ending the selective politics that has turned civic buildings into partisan billboards and restoring unity to our civic life.”

The motion was seconded by an emotional Cllr Karl Hughes, a veteran and former police officer elected for Reform UK in May, who spoke about the millions of armed forces personnel who gave their lives for the union flag.

He said we honour them with the union flag.

Cllr Hughes received a round of applause from his Reform colleagues as he broke down in tears towards the end of his address.

As Charity and Hughes spoke, protestors had gathered in the public gallery, situated behind the Reform UK benches.

They stood in silence holding aloft the Pride flag, Armed Forces flags, and the Yorkshire Rose and St George flag.

Before the vote on the motion, Mayor Jones added: “There is no need for this motion, you simply could have sent me an email, of which, the answer would be the same.

“So let me be perfectly clear, whether this motion passes or not, I will not be revising our Flag Flying Protocol. I would advise anyone thinking of voting in favour of this motion to think through what this motion excludes.”

The chamber also heard speeches from other Labour councillors, including Sue Farmer, James Church, David Nevett, Glyn Jones, Rob Dennis, Majid Khan and Gemma Cobby.

Conservative Nick Allen said that, as a gay man, he understands what Cllr Charity had said about feeling invisible, but that this motion was not the way to deal with that.

“There is a dog-whistle to all of this,” he said, adding the motion was “an aspect of quite nasty politics”.

Charity responded to the criticism by saying he respected the opinions of the other councillors, but said they “lived in an echo chamber”.

No Reform UK councillors outside of Charity and Hughes spoke in support of the motion.

Due to the mayoral system in Doncaster, the motion could only ask Mayor Jones to “consider” changing the council’s flag policy.

The motion passed with 32 votes for, 14 against and six abstentions, suggesting at least three Reform UK councillors did not support it

All 35 Reform UK councillors were presented at the meeting – minus Sam Booth, who resigned as a councillor this week, and Mark Broadhurst, who was at the meeting as an independent after losing the Reform UK whip.

Five of the six Conservative councillors were in attendance and 11 of the 12 Labour councillors attended.

Two Reform UK councillors, Craig Ward and Brendan Megaw – representing Roman Ridge and Mexborough respectively – informed the LDRS after the meeting that they both voted against the motion.

Both councillors declined to speak further on the issue.

During his speech, Cllr Allen, who is Conservative deputy leader, said his party was abstaining from the vote and he would vote with them. Votes in the chamber are anonymous.

Mayor Jones declined to accept the motion as policy and the rules on which flags will fly on Doncaster Council property will not change.