A Doncaster-born drag performer has been elected as a Reform UK councillor following a closely fought by‑election in Greater Manchester.
Michael Felse won the Barton and Winton seat on Salford City Council on Wednesday 22 April, becoming Reform UK’s first councillor on the Labour‑controlled authority. Official results show Felse secured 676 votes, narrowly defeating Labour candidate Catherine Goodyer, who received 643, with turnout at 17.8%.
Felse, who was born in a former mining village near Doncaster and has lived in Salford for more than 30 years, is best known for previously performing in drag under the name Ethol Mary. In 2011, he was selected as Manchester Pride Queen and led the city’s Pride parade, an appointment he described at the time as “an honour”.
In recent years, however, Felse has distanced himself from drag performance, instead unveiling a new persona he calls “Captain England”, which he says is intended to promote what he describes as “traditional Pride” values. He has also adopted an alternative acronym for the word Pride - DICK, standing for Diversity, Inclusion, Cohesion and Kinship .
Having recently joined Reform UK, led nationally by Nigel Farage, Felse has been outspoken in his criticism of council funding for LGBTQ+ events. Following his election, he called on local authorities to stop public funding for Pride celebrations, arguing that such events offer “little value to social inclusion” and that councils should instead focus on what he described as “bread and butter” local services .
The result was welcomed by senior figures within Reform UK, with deputy leader Richard Tice describing the win as an “incredible” breakthrough in what has traditionally been a Labour stronghold .
Scene was founded in Brighton in 1993, at a time when news stories about Pride protests were considered radical.
Since then, Scene has remained proudly independent, building a platform for queer voices. Every subscription helps us to report on the stories that matter to LGBTQ+ people across the UK and beyond.
Your support funds our journalists and contributes to Pride Community Foundation’s grant-making and policy work.
Member discussion