Pride banners installed across Calderdale, West Yorkshire look set to remain in place despite an initial threat from Reform UK, which runs the council, to remove them and pursue legal action.
Around 30 banners featuring the Progress Pride flag have appeared in towns across the borough, each including a QR code linking to information on reporting hate crime. The initiative, funded through an £8,000 community crowdfunding campaign, has been welcomed by campaigners as a visible show of support for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Councillor Sarah Courtney, who helped lead the fundraising effort, said the banners were legally installed in licensed advertising spaces and reflected strong backing from local residents.
“These have been put up legally, by the company the council uses for banner advertising, and paid for by the community,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that message of inclusion is visible right across Calderdale - that everyone is welcome here.”
The banners are expected to remain in place for up to a year and have been installed in towns including Elland, Brighouse, Sowerby Bridge, Todmorden and Hebden Bridge.
Their appearance follows a recent council decision to reduce the number of occasions on which certain flags, including those linked to LGBTQ+ awareness days, are flown from official buildings - a move that prompted concern among equality campaigners.
Supporters say the banner campaign represents a positive, community‑led response, ensuring Pride remains visible in public spaces regardless of official policy changes.
Reform UK initially said it would “move to immediately remove” Pride-related displays and seek to recover costs, but no further action has been confirmed. The council has since stated only that it did not formally approve the banners, stopping short of saying they would be taken down.
Courtney acknowledged that some unauthorised flags had been tied to lampposts in parts of the borough, but stressed that the Pride banners themselves were installed properly and within existing rules.
“I absolutely support removing anything put up unsafely,” she said. “But these banners are in the proper spaces and have been done the right way.”
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