Keeping Nottinghamshire’s controversial Union Flag banners may not be a “priority” under a new wider Nottingham council, councillors say.
The Reform-led county council made news last October when it announced it would be spending £75,000 installing 164 Union Flag banners on lampposts along the county’s roads. They were rolled out around the end of November and beginning of December 2025.
Its decision was partly to “enhance civic pride” in the area and draw in some cash from local businesses who could end up sponsoring them. So far, none have been sponsored.
The move has been criticised by opposition members on the authority, with some labelling the project a waste of taxpayers’ money and questioning if the cash could have been better spent on other services.
Council leader Mick Barton has often defended the banners, recently claiming they were funded with savings made on cabinet positions and not from money taken from any service.
But Nottinghamshire is heading towards its biggest boundary shake-up in 50 years with Local Government Reorganisation, which will see parts of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe merged with Nottingham to create a new unitary authority and another unitary to serve the remaining county.
Seeing as some of the banners will one day fall under the new Greater Nottingham Council, it raises the question: what will happen to Reform’s banners?
Councillors representing areas falling under the future wider Nottingham boundary say keeping them likely will not be a “priority” if their groups have any influence.
Councillor Ethan Radford (Lab), deputy leader of Nottingham City Council said: “It’s a question of which party is running the new authority after the [shadow] elections – the main fundamental question is, is this what taxpayers want their money spent on?
“They said [the banners] were getting private sponsorship – they haven’t. That it’s not costing the taxpayer, which they have.
“It’s the flag of the nation, quite tatty on a lamppost, when I know children in care are struggling, there are older people who need support – it’s a real question of what people want to see their money going on.”
Cllr Radford said he believes there are “better ways” of displaying patriotism, with the city council having the record of England’s largest St George’s flag on the front of the council house in Market Square.
He said: “When LGR happens there will be an enormous amount of people in a great level of need. A Labour administration on day one would be prioritising addressing those needs rather than playing performative politics.”
An FOI submitted in early July showed a total of 16 banners, including those advertising fostering services, had been vandalised across the county’s boroughs and districts.
Cllr Mike Adams (Con) represents Carlton East on the county council and the Trent Valley ward on Gedling Borough Council – both areas also fall under the new Greater Nottingham authority by 2028.
He said: “I wouldn’t be in favour of any action of the taxpayer taking on any extra cost.
“My view is we use banners like that how we used them for before, for information on public events, use the existing brackets for that.
“For me, leave them up until they fall apart, or they’re vandalised, at no point should the taxpayer be spending more money on them.
“Always take people over the banners – that money could have been spent elsewhere.”
Nottinghamshire County Council was contacted for response and to indicate any plan for the banners under LGR. It did not respond at the time of publication.
