Kemi’s Conservatism: Only Fly the ‘Original’ Pride Flag
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has banned the Progress Pride flag at Tory-controlled councils while allowing the traditional rainbow flag, citing concerns about gender ideology and identity politics.
The directive targets the newer flag design that has replaced the classic six-stripe rainbow in many progressive spaces in recent years, according to The European Conservative. The Progress Pride version adds transgender colors, stripes meant to represent ethnic minorities, and an intersex symbol to the original design.
In a message sent to Conservative-controlled councils and obtained by the Mail, party chairman Kevin Hollinrake explained the rationale behind the ban. He distinguished between the original rainbow flag, which he said has become widely recognized as a symbol of respect and inclusion for gay people, and the Progress version.
The Progress flag, Hollinrake wrote, was deliberately created to promote a wider range of political and ideological agendas. He noted that its additional symbols are tied to divisive concepts including gender identity ideology, critical race theory, and social justice activism.
Rather than bringing communities together, the party chairman argued, the Progress flag embodies identity politics and fragments society into competing and divisive identities.
The guidance follows an incident at Westminster City Council, which the Conservatives won back from Labour in last month’s local elections. The council had displayed the Progress Pride flag above its Victoria Street headquarters, with the council leader even posting video footage of the flag being raised on social media.
The move represents a clear pushback against the increasing politicization of pride symbolism and the injection of contested gender ideology and racial theories into what was originally a symbol of gay rights and acceptance.
With information from The European Conservative
