Richard Bingley plans Essex flag change at Thurrock offices
Richard Bingley wants the essex flag outside Thurrock Council’s civic offices in Grays replaced next week with the Thurrock coat of arms, the Essex Flag and the Union Jack. The incoming Reform Thurrock Council leader said he has already asked the council managing director to start the change.
The flag outside the building has often been the Ukrainian flag, alongside the Union flag and the Cross of St George. Thurrock Council said the plan will be decided next week, when the new administration meets formally.
Richard Bingley’s plan
Bingley said, “We will be ensuring that the three flags flown on the Thurrock Borough Council building will reflect our local, regional and national geography and heritage.” He added, “We live in Thurrock. We are a part of Essex. And we are proud to be British.”
He also said, “We will not support the flying of selective and sectionalist flags, no matter how emotive or compelling the cause might be. Public flags should unite. They shouldn’t divide.”
The change would affect the flags flown outside Thurrock Council’s offices in Grays, where the Ukrainian flag has been put up most days with the Union flag and the Cross of St George. At other times, the council has flown symbolic flags including those for the Commonwealth, the Armed Forces and remembrance of the Srebrenica massacre.
Essex County Council move
Bingley linked Thurrock’s plan to the recent change at Essex County Council, where a Union Jack was put up outside County Hall in Chelmsford last week. Reform UK won 45 seats out of 49 in Essex County Council and took control for the first time.
Essex County Council leader Peter Harris called the Union Jack being put up outside County Hall “a proud moment”. Opposition Conservative Lee Scott warned the move could encourage “pro-Kremlin politics” locally.
Bingley said, “Nigel Farage's own statement in support of the new Essex administration's decision to do likewise last week, mirrors and underpins our own policy and the reset back to patriotic common-sense here in Thurrock.”
Thurrock formal meeting
Thurrock Council said it cannot say whether the flag changes will go ahead until the formal administration meeting next week. Bingley said, “I’ve already asked the Thurrock Council MD to instigate this change. Council officers are checking guidance as we speak.”
For residents who pass the Grays civic offices, the immediate change would be visible on the building itself: the current Ukrainian flag would be replaced if the administration proceeds, and the council’s next formal meeting will decide whether that happens.
