We interrupt this broadcast…

Fortunately, my email was rather more measured than my internal monologue.

Within seconds I was confirming that this was their plan, then I was drafting emails to my councillors and my MP. The MP can’t actually do much, but she does need to be aware of constituency concerns – and I seem to have a good rapport with her.

This is what I sent:

Subject: Subject: Please oppose Motion (a) concerning the Council’s flag policy

Dear Councillor [their actual name],

I am writing as a Southampton resident regarding Motion (a), which proposes restricting the flying of flags from the Civic Centre.

I fully support flying the Union Flag, the Flag of St George and the Southampton City Flag. They represent our nation, our city and our shared civic identity.

However, limiting the Council to only these three flags would remove its ability to display the Pride flag during Pride Month and on other occasions when it wishes to express support for LGBT residents.

The motion states that our national and city flags represent everyone regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation. In principle, I agree. But national flags and Pride flags communicate different messages. A national flag expresses political identity and citizenship. The Pride flag expresses welcome, inclusion and safety. These messages complement one another; they are not in competition.

I recently returned from travelling alone through Spain. One thing that struck me was how reassuring it was to see Pride flags flying from civic buildings. As a gay man, I found myself instinctively relaxing when I saw them. They signalled, before I had spoken to anyone, that I was in a place where LGBT people were likely to be welcomed and accepted. Those flags were not only for local residents; they were also a message to visitors.

Southampton is a Sea City. Every year we welcome cruise passengers, seafarers, students and visitors from around the world. Flying the Pride flag sends a simple but powerful message that Southampton is an open, welcoming and inclusive city. Few symbols communicate that as clearly or as universally.

The Flag of St George has an important place as England’s national flag. However, it does not communicate the same message of welcome to many international visitors or minority communities. Fairly or unfairly, it has also been associated in some people’s minds with nationalist and far-right movements. That perception means it does not provide the same reassurance that the Pride flag offers to many LGBT people and other minorities.

I am also concerned that this motion would unnecessarily remove the Council’s flexibility to mark important civic occasions. Whether recognising Pride Month, Holocaust Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day, support for Ukraine, or other significant events, the ability to fly an appropriate flag allows the Council to express solidarity with different parts of our community when it is appropriate to do so.

I hope Southampton will continue to be known as a city that looks outward rather than inward — one that celebrates its diversity while remaining proud of its national and local identity.

For these reasons, I respectfully ask you to oppose this motion, or to support amendments that preserve the Council’s discretion to fly commemorative and inclusion flags where appropriate.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my views.

Yours sincerely,

Within ten minutes of sending it, I got a reply from one of the councilors:

Thank you for taking the time to message me with your concerns. 

I can assure you that I will be vehemently opposing this motion as will the rest of my Labour colleagues. We will not pander to any attempts to infringe on the rights of anyone in our local community and will be standing up for our LGBTQIA+ residents by opposing this, and any other such motions in future. 

I hope that helps provide some confidence of where I stand on this issue. Please do let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. 

That was a reassuring response to receive. It reminded me that engaging with local democracy is not just about shouting into the void.

If I am able to, I will join the protest outside the civic centre on Wednesday: I am NOT having this. I’ll hang the fucking flags myself if I have to <ahem>