00:00Durham County Council's newly elected Reform UK administration has announced it'll
00:05withhold funding for next year's Pride celebrations, shifting focus instead to core
00:10services like waste collection and road repairs. Deputy Leader Darren Grimes defended the move,
00:16calling previous support tokenism and asserting that council taxpayers shouldn't underwrite
00:22political activism. This year's Pride event, which was held in the city centre in Durham,
00:28saw thousands celebrating the region's LGBTQ plus community, including members of the British Armed
00:35Forces. The council had provided up to £10,000 in funding, part of an effort to boost the area's
00:42cultural offerings after its failed bid for city of culture status. Now with reforms signalling a
00:49full withdrawal of funding in 2026, organisers are stepping up support from elsewhere. Durham Pride
00:56is partnering with the Durham Miners Association and the Trades Union Congress to raise funds and
01:01keep the event alive. A fundraiser at Durham Miners Hall, including a panel featuring Mike Jackson,
01:09founder of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, is scheduled later in the year. Notably, Reform removed
01:16the Pride flag from County Hall just days before the event, a move critics condemned as mean-spirited
01:22and disrespectful. Reform responded that the removal aligned with its anti-tokenism stance,
01:29insisting only national and county flags would fly. Their approach, characterised by symbolic acts and
01:35budget cuts in areas like diversity and climate rules, has raised alarm among critics over the erosion
01:42of inclusion efforts.
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