Scrutiny councillors have rapped the knuckles of the new Kirklees Council leader over the introduction of a controversial flag-flying policy.
Kirklees Council’s Liberal Democrat group ‘called in’ the decision meaning Reform UK’s Clr Sarah Wood was brought before a Scrutiny committee to face questions.
Previously requests for flags to be flown on town halls and civic buildings were decided by the council leader, the mayor and the chief executive in consultation.
But in one of her first moves as leader, Clr Wood took the executive decision to introduce a new flag-flying policy limiting the flags which could be flown.
While council officers were asked for their advice, there was no consultation with other councillors or the wider community.
The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee has no power to scrap or change the policy but have referred it back to Clr Wood with the recommendation she take it to Cabinet for review.
The committee also made a series of recommendations to clarify the policy.
Crucially, the committee admonished Clr Wood for a lack of openness in her decision-making.
Reading the committee’s recommendation, chair Clr Liz Smaje said Clr Wood should give consideration to the need for “open and transparent decision making in public for future decisions.”
The new flag-flying policy says that only the Union Flag, the Flag of St George and the Civic Flag can be flown from town halls and civic buildings.
Specific flags can also be flown on the days they are associated with. These are: Yorkshire Day; Armed Forces Day; Merchant Navy Day; Commonwealth Day; National 999 Emergency Services Day; Remembrance Sunday; and Holocaust Memorial Day.
Critics branded the policy “divisive” and a snub to causes such as Pride, Palestine and Ukraine. The LGBTQ+ community staged a protest outside the last full council meeting.
Though the policy change was supposed to “simplify the council’s policy and to make decision making about flags clearer and more consistent”, the committee uncovered several inconsistencies.
While the policy said the new rules would apply to “town halls and any other council-owned or managed civic buildings with a flagpole”, it was revealed during questioning that it only applied to the council’s four town halls – Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Batley and Cleckheaton.
Clr Smaje said that Dewsbury Town Hall had three flagpoles and the Dewsbury civic flag was flown permanently from one of them.
Clr Wood confirmed the Dewsbury flag contravened the new policy and could no longer be flown.
Giving evidence Clr Wood said the new policy did away with the need for the council leader, mayor and chief executive to make a discretionary decision on whether a flag could be flown.
However, the policy says: “Requests for the flying of additional or alternative flags that fall outside the provisions of the approved Flag Flying Policy, subject to any legal requirements or requirements of Royal Protocol or direction from national government, will be determined by the leader.”
Clr Wood was asked if that meant she would now make that sole decision. Clr Wood said that clause was only referring to any instruction to fly a flag coming from the Government on such as the death of a Royal.
Any request to fly a flag outside of those listed in the policy would be automatically refused under the policy and would not come to the leader.
Explaining the reason for the call-in Clr Paola Davies (Lib Dem, Almondbury) said Clr Wood had made the decision “without a single exercise of formal consultation, notification or dialogue with any of the diverse communities directly affected.”
She said Clr Wood considered flag-flying as a “mere administrative housekeeping matter” and “blatantly ignored” the impact on local communities and damage to the council’s reputation.
She added: “Over recent years, Kirklees has proudly flown the Irish tricolour on Huddersfield Town Hall, celebrating deep cultural ties and the Pride rainbow flag championing inclusion and marking milestones such as the 40th anniversary of Huddersfield hosting the first national Pride march outside of London.
“It also flew the Windrush flag, the RAF Ensign and the Emergency Services Day flag. None of these groups were consulted.
“The leader failed to weigh the real world impact of withdrawing these recognitions by ignoring real community representation, and potential backlash.
“It is clear that no consultation was made…and this decision was made without an equality impact assessment, without public scrutiny and without listening to the people of Kirklees.”
Clr David Ridgway (Lib Dem, Lindley) said: “Clr Wood previously said she did not know how the council works – and this policy shows she was right.”
He said her decision “cocked a snook” at the people of Kirklees.
Clr Wood told the Huddersfield Town Hall meeting the previous policy needed to be changed.
It left the leader, mayor and chief executive to “adjudicate between requests for civic recognition of different causes, beliefs, identities, politics, campaigns and international issues” of which residents in Kirklees may hold opposing views, causing potential division.
Clr Wood said council leaders, mayors and chief executives would change over the years and “different combinations of three individuals could potentially reach different conclusions about identical requests.
“That creates uncertainty, and it also creates confusion in the Kirklees residents of this borough. It also creates the potential for recurring political disputes.”
Clr Wood added: “What should the flagpoles on our civic buildings be for? Should they become a continuing mechanism through which the council decides which causes or beliefs merit civic endorsement?
“Or should we establish a clear, predictable framework, based principally upon flags representing things which bind us together, civically, and nationally in its broadest sense? We chose the latter.”
